NRLF 


B  M  m?  ^E7 


PATHS  TO  POWER 


NINETEENTH  EDITION 


Paths  to  Power 


By    FLOYD     B.    WILSON 

Author  of ' ' Man  Limitless,  *  *- 
^*  Through  Silence  to  Reali- 
zation, "  "  Th  e  Discovery 
of  the   Soul.'* 


R.   F.    FENNO    &    COMPANY 

18  EAST  SEVENTEENTH   ST.,  NEW  YORl' 


EDUC. 

PSYCH, 

LiBSARf 


3F  ^3f 
W  5" 


EDUC 
PS       . 
Li-       lY 


CotVRIGHT,   1 901 

BY 

R«  F.  FsNNo  Sc  CoMPAm 


INTRODUCTION. 

Few  words  are  necessary,  it  seems  to  me,  in 
presenting  this  little  volume.  The  first  seven 
papers  may  be  considered  as  a  series,  each  one 
following  the  other  in  a  natural  order  of  pro- 
gression. The  seventh — the  Assertion  of  the  I 
— completes  the  series.  The  other  papers  con- 
tain, to  a  certain  extent,  the  application  of  the 
principles  of  the  philosophy  presented. 

Each  student  will  need  to  make  personal  ex- 
periments, as  I  recognize  that  each  one  must 
modify,  to  some  extent,  the  course  I  have  fol- 
lowed, on  account  of  his  own  temperament, 
environment  and  position  in  the  cosmos.  Many 
have  been  working  and  writing  on  similar  lines ; 
but  they  differ  as  to  the  discipline  required  to 
accomplish  purpose.  Herein  I  present  a  method 
that  I  have  tested  and  proven  to  be  practical. 

A  few  of  these  articles  have  appeared  in  some 
of  our  monthly  publications,  and  two  or  three 
have  been  read  before  the  School  of  Philosophy 
and  other  societies  in  New  York  city  during 
the   past  two  years.    All  of  these,  however, 

3 


482?{> 


4  Introduction. 

have  been  recast,  and  the  fourteen  papers  pre- 
sented, although  each  is  complete  in  itself,  are 
parts  of  a  whole. 
New  York  City,  September,  1901. 


CONTENTS. 


PAOI 

I.  One's  Atmosphere 7 

II.  Growth 20 

III.  A  Psychic  Law  in  Student  Work 33 

IV.  Unfoldment 42 

v.  Power  :  How  to  Attain  It 61 

VI.  Harmony 79 

Vn.  The  Assertion  op  the  1 104 

VIII.  The  Tree  of  Knowledge— of  Good  and 

Evil 117 

IX.  Conditions 134 

X.  Faith 149 

\^  XI.  Back  op  Vibrations 170 

XII.  Wasted  Energy 185 

XIII.  Something  About  Genius 199 

XrV.  Shakespeare  :  How  he  Told  his  Secret 

IN  the  *•  Dream"  and  the  "  Tempest  ". .  213 


PATHS  TO  POWER. 


ONE'S  ATMOSPHERE. 

It  is  almost  universally  conceded  that  each 
one  carries  a  certain  atmosphere  that  may  be 
felt  by  all  who  come  in  contact  with  him  ;  but 
how  that  atmosphere  is  formed  and  held  by  each 
individual  is  an  open  question. 

It  is  his  nature  (whatever  that  word  may 
mean  to  the  speaker),  says  one.  Another, 
versed  in  astrology,  knows  that  the  stars,  at  the 
hour  of  birth,  settled  it  all.  Another  has  read 
the  arguments  in  the  books  on  heredity,  and 
believes  one  may  inherit  spiritual  qualities  from 
father  or  mother  or  ancestors.  A  fourth  reads 
history,  and  knows  environment  to  be  the  sole 
cause.  Yet  a  fifth,  claiming  to  be  wiser  and 
broader-minded,  believes  in  the  stars,  and  flesh- 
ly ties,  and  environment,  and  education,  as  com- 
bining to  create  the  atmosphere  surrounding 
each  one. 

7 


8  Paths  to  Power. 

Accepting  fully  any  of  these  theories,  we 
must  conclude  that  the  individual  is  largely 
irresponsible.  From  him  emanates  what  has 
been,  by  some  of  these  forces,  implanted  within 
him.  In  short,  a  tide  of  circumstances  first  met 
him ;  and  through  his  actions  thereby  forced 
was  created  the  atmosphere  that  marks  his  indi- 
viduality. If  this  were  the  truth — the  whole 
truth — the  subject  would  possess  little  of  in- 
terest, and  might  be  at  once  dismissed. 

With  our  ideas  of  education,  which  we  have 
been  following  and  elaborating  for  centuries, 
the  end  has  been  to  discipline  the  memory  and 
to  train  the  mind  to  generalizations  and  classifi- 
cations that  give  the  student  information,  poise, 
and  judgment  in  lines  dignified  as  intellectual. 

With  the  experience  gained  by  training  stu- 
dents in  language,  mathematics,  history,  etc., 
progress  has  been  made  ;  so  that,  as  the  years  go 
by,  more  and  more  (measuring  by  the  bulk  stand- 
ard) is  being  added  to  the  curriculum  of  the 
college.  Classes  being  graduated  to-day  show 
greater  proficiency  in  Latin,  Greek,  modern 
languages,  mathematics,  history,  and  so  on,  than 
classes  on  whose  members  degrees  were  con- 
ferred by  the  same  college  twenty-five  years  ago. 
Professors  congratulate  themselves  on  this,  and 
promise  in  the  near  future  even  better  things. 


One's  Atmosphere.  9 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  paper  to  belittle 
or  criticise  this  advance.  In  its  way,  it  is  well 
enough.  A  knowledge  of  Latin  can  be  gained 
only  by  the  study  of  Latin,  and  it  is  fortunate 
that  the  student  can  now  make  more  rapid  prog- 
ress than  formerly.  Granting  that  the  college 
method,  in  the  subjects  taught,  leads  the  student 
as  rapidly  as  he  can  safely  progress  in  each  one 
of  them,  still  his  real  power  in  the  world  is 
given  tangible  expression  by  his  atmosphere — 
and  what  has  college  training  had  to  do  with 
that  ?  College  has  its  environment ;  the  student 
remains  within  it  for  four  or  more  years  ;  its  im- 
press is  not  likely  to  be  completely  eradicated. 
Yet,  if  the  student  leave  college  holding  any  of 
the  commonly  cited  theories  to  account  for  one's 
atmosphere,  he  is  simply  adrift  in  the  world  of 
thought.  Is  there  safe  anchorage  to  be  found? 
Let  us  see. 

This  subject  of  one's  atmosphere  stands  forth 
as  a  great  is.  It  is  a  mighty  reality.  Though 
its  creation  may  be  surrounded  with  mystery,  its 
existence  is  as  real  as  the  noon-day  sun.  We 
feel  it  everywhere  in  mingling  with  people; 
in  some  it  attracts,  and  in  others  repels.  Recog- 
nizing unfavorable  atmosphere  surrounding  a 
friend  or  associate,  attempts  have  been  made  to 
change  it.    As  a  rule,  the  result  of  such  attempts 


10  Paths  to  Power. 

has  been  a  failure.  What  is  worse,  the  great 
majority  of  the  human  family,  while  lamenting 
that  their  atmosphere  is  so-and-so,  declare  at  the 
same  time  that  they  are  powerless  to  change  it. 

This  subject,  therefore,  has  a  charm  more  than 
sacred  to  every  being ;  a  charm  reaching  his  in- 
nermost holy  of  holies.  Let  one  declare  repeat- 
edly and  openly  as  he  may  his  inability  to  con- 
trol his  own  atmosphere,  his  whole  existence  is 
full  of  proofs  of  his  efforts  to  do  that  very  thing. 
Taking  a  broad  view,  in  the  light  of  the  new 
metaphysics,  mingling  the  truths  of  the  Eastern 
philosophy  with  the  more  vigorous  mentality  of 
the  West,  must  there  not  be  a  demonstrable 
reason  for  these  attempts  to  control  ?  Why 
should  the  desire  to  change  one's  atmosphere 
enter  the  mind,  suggesting  even  discipline  to 
that  end,  if  there  be  no  hope  of  its  attainment? 
Does  not  the  desire,  coupled  with  the  attempt  to 
satisfy  it,  mean  something  ? 

Again,  some  have  succeeded  in  their  work. 
Do  we  not  all  of  us  know  people  whose  atmos- 
phere has  been  wholly  changed  ?  Have  we  not 
met  them  with  surprise,  feeling  they  were  not 
our  former  friends,  but  reincarnations  of  them  ? 
How  they  succeeded  has  been  vaguely  told  at 
best.  The  investigator  listened  to  their  story, 
but  it  did  not  bring  conviction;  so  these  ex« 


One's  Atmosphere.  ii 

periences  have  brought  little  truth  to  the  think- 
ing world. 

Where  is  the  trouble  ?  Is  all  real  knowledge 
intuitional?  Will  the  logic  of  intellect  ever 
refuse  light  from  that  source  ?  If  so,  we  must 
recognize  a  higher  guide  than  intellect  to  help 
us  on  these  lines. 

That  the  proposition  may  be  clearly  under- 
stood, it  will  be  best  to  state  it  boldly.  It  is 
this :  Man  controls  absolutely  his  own  atmos- 
phere. To  prove  this,  we  leave  the  logic  of  the 
schools.  We  must  look  within.  We  enter  the 
throbbing  silence  of  the  intuitional.  One  can- 
not refuse  to  do  so ;  because,  in  the  statement 
of  our  proposition,  it  is  self-evident  that  "  man  " 
cannot  refer  to  the  man  as  seen  in  the  flesh.  It 
is  the  great  impersonality  of  one's  being ;  it  is 
his  ego ;  it  is  the  unseeable ;  it  is  the  eternal. 
**  Man  controls  "  means,  then,  that  the  true  ego 
controls ;  and,  primarily,  if  the  true  ego  control, 
the  true  ego  must  have  knowledge  of  such 
power.  Knowledge  of  power  must  precede  the 
ability  to  use  the  power  intelligently.  If  these 
simple,  self-evident  statements  be  true,  how 
little  does  our  conscious  self  know  of  the  real 
self  within !  That,  however,  we  may  not  stop 
to  consider.  The  purpose  of  this  paper  is  to 
lead  the  student  to  know  his  power,  not   to 


12  Paths  to  Power. 

marvel  why  he  has  not  known  it  before.  It  is 
true  that  many  have  learned  of  a  seeming  other 
self-hood  to  which  they  could  appeal.  They 
did  not  know  the  open  way  to  the  reservoir  of 
wisdom  within;  they  guessed,  and,  happily, 
guessed  well.  In  this  day  of  advanced  thought, 
however,  the  student  demands  demonstration. 
Please  note,  in  passing,  that  one  might  even 
have  knowledge  of  his  power  and  not  exercise 
it.  Knowledge  of  it  gives  courage,  and  yet  all 
the  work  is  to  be  done. 

You  may  know  you  can  learn  Japanese,  be- 
cause of  your  acquaintance  and  discipline  in 
other  languages  than  the  one  first  acquired  at 
your  mother's  knee  ;  but  such  knowledge  alone 
does  not  give  you  a  mastery  of  even  the  simplest 
phrase  in  Japanese.  Reasoning  from  past  ex- 
periences in  the  study  of  language,  you  know 
what  the  result  must  be,  with  faithful  work  on 
your  part,  under  the  direction  of  a  master  in 
that  tongue.  All  this  reasoning  is  simple  as  to 
the  learning  of  a  language ;  now,  how  far  does 
it  help  us  in  the  demonstration  attempted  ?  If 
we  can  control  nothing  without  knowledge  of 
the  power  to  control,  this  knowledge  must  pre- 
cede the  power. 

From  whom  shall  such  knowledge  be  gained  ? 
We  turn  to  Eastern  philosophy,  and  read  of  the 


One's  Atmosphere.  13 

marvels  done,  and  being  done,  by  the  masters ; 
and  yet  the  story  of  their  unfolding  is  unre- 
vealed.  We  look  about  us  here,  and  find 
some  illustrious  examples — some  noble  victories 
won  over  conscious  self  by  men  who  could  only 
see  and  read  the  shining  lights  and  signboards 
appearing  to  the  eye  of  Hope  above  the  limit- 
less pathway  of  *'  I  can."  But  these  men  again 
are  confusing  and  indefinite  when  attempting 
to  tell  the  way.  They  may  have  some  theories  ; 
but  too  often  it  seems  they  were  led  almost 
blindly.  Nevertheless,  that  they  won  is  some- 
thing— we  must  not  overlook  that. 

It  is  evident  from  what  I  have  herein  pre- 
sented that  our  proofs,  if  found  at  all,  are  to 
be  found  in  the  realm  of  the  intuitional.  How 
can  one  know  that  statements  from  the  intu- 
itional are  truths?  The  conscious  mind  de- 
mands demonstration.  May  it  not  all  be  found 
somewhere  in  the  history  of  progress  ?  Let  us 
note  some  conditions,  states  of  mind,  brought 
about  by  causes  clearly  understood.  This  may 
help  us. 

If  ever  you  were  in  a  railway  accident  where 
you  suffered  a  severe  shock,  have  you  not  noticed 
that  for  weeks  and  months  thereafter,  upon 
taking  up  a  newspaper,  your  eye  would  quickly 
fall  upon  any  item  in  it  referring  to  a  railway 


14  Paths  to  Pow^r. 

disaster  of  any  nature  whatever?  It  seemed  to 
you  that  such  occurrences  were  increasing,  be- 
cause you  were  always  reading  of  them.  To- 
day, however,  we  know  that  your  eye  was 
directed  to  the  paragraph  by  the  action  of  the 
subconscious  mind,  from  a  motive  in  the  nature 
of  warning.  The  shock  you  had  previously 
received  made  you  for  a  moment  absolutely 
still.  At  that  instant,  the  subconscious  mind 
became  charged  with  the  one  thought  of  en- 
lightening you,  whenever  it  might,  on  that  sub- 
ject; hence,  the  seemingly  unconscious  action. 

Here,  then,  we  find  a  condition,  a  state  of 
mind,  an  atmosphere,  has  been  created.  To 
overcome  this  atmosphere,  one  has  only  to 
charge  the  subconscious  mind  with  thoughts  of 
security  and  peace.  This  may  be  accomplished 
in  divers  ways  ;  one  of  the  simplest  may  be  to 
sit  alone  fifteen  minutes  each  day  and  hold  the 
thought:  "I  am  under  complete  protection, 
and  always  safe  ! "  Soon  the  sitter  will  find  the 
stories  of  accidents  in  the  newspaper  will  no 
longer  press  themselves  upon  his  attention.  In 
the  above  case,  the  action  which  produced  the 
condition  was  involuntary — the  action  to  change 
is  voluntary  and  scientific. 

Look  over  your  list  of  friends  for  a  moment, 
and  select  one  whom  you  have  known  for  years 


One's  Atmosphere  15 

who  never  gives  a  complete,  frank  indorsement 
of  another.  Though  he  may  speak  of  marked 
traits  with  praise,  he  invariably  insists  on  add- 
ing qualifying  phrases  by  way  of  criticism. 
Gradually  you  have  observed  that  you  could 
not  come  in  his  atmosphere  without  being 
treated  to  a  budget  of  criticisms  on  others. 
These  others  might  be  your  friends,  or  they 
might  be  public  characters  more  or  less  well 
known.  Your  friend  has  learned  to  pride  him- 
self on  his  wonderful  ability  to  discern  faults 
quickly  in  those  whom  he  may  meet.  Soon  all 
his  friends  know  what  to  expect  when  they 
come  within  his  atmosphere.  They  also  find 
that,  within  it,  they  are  likely  to  supplement 
him  on  the  same  lines.  They,  too,  become  fault- 
finders. The  effect  of  this  on  the  principal, 
who  created  this  atmosphere  about  himself,  is 
to  intensify  his  bitterness,  till  even  they  who 
once  listened  willingl}',  now  withdraw  from  an 
atmosphere  that  has  become  too  oppressive  for 
them  to  breathe.  No  one  would  think  it  fair  to 
lay  this  condition  to  "  the  stars,"  or  to  "  envi- 
ronment." 

There  is  hardly  a  reader  who  will  not  be  able 
to  recall  the  early  life  of  at  least  one  young 
man,  whose  childhood  was  spent  in  poverty,  and 
who,  in  boyhood,  expressed   a  firm  desire  to 


l6  Paths  to  Power. 

tafae  a  college  course.  If,  a  little  later,  that 
desire  became  a  declared  resolve,  soon  all  the 
avenues  opened  to  the  end.  That  desire  and 
resolve  created  an  atmosphere  which  attracted 
the  forces  necessary  to  the  attainment  of  the 
purpose.  Many  of  these  young  men  will  tell 
us  that,  as  long  as  they  were  hoping  and  striv- 
ing and  longing,  mountains  of  difficulty  rose 
before  them ;  but  that  when  they  fashioned 
their  hopes  into  fixed  purposes,  aid  came  un- 
sought to  help  them  on  the  way. 

With  a  little  reflection,  illustrations  will 
present  themselves  by  the  score  to  the  reader  as 
to  some  of  the  causes  that  may  tend  to  produce 
this  or  that  atmosphere.  Our  argument  now 
forces  the  conclusion  that  the  atmosphere  about 
us  is  a  product  of  thought.  Thought  makes  it 
what  it  is,  and  thought  alone  can  change  it  when 
it  will.  Though  it  be  true  that  conditions  are 
started  as  we  have  seen,  sometimes  without  pur- 
pose of  will,  and  sometimes  by  purpose  half-con- 
scious only,  and  sometimes  by  firm  resolve,  still, 
the  bringing  about  of  an  atmosphere  is  always 
due  to  the  active  working  of  persistent  thought. 
The  atmosphere  that  marks  strong  individuality 
is  universally  conceded  to  be  the  product  of  the 
invisible  emanation  of  thought  centered  on  an 
idea. 


One's  Atmosphere.  17 

Our  proposition  as  to  control,  therefore,  now 
reduces  itself  to  this :  If  we  know  ourselves 
masters  of  our  mental  apparatus,  we  know  we 
can  control  our  thoughts  and  thus  dictate  our 
atmosphere. 

It  is,  however,  pertinent  here  to  ask  how  it 
is  our  thoughts  often  seem  to  mark  out  their 
own  course,  regardless  of  our  intentions.  This 
assumption  is  only  partly  true ;  still,  it  is  partly 
true.  If  one  allow  others  to  do  his  thinking, 
and  is  continually  moulding  over  his  own 
thoughts  so  that  they  will  run  smoothly  in  the 
grooves  that  carry  the  thoughts  of  his  friends,  he 
brings  confusion  to  his  mental  atmosphere  ;  and 
he  must  not  be  surprised  at  the  result.  The 
mental  work,  being  haphazard,  may  then  pro- 
duce an  atmosphere  neither  contemplated  nor 
desired.  We  can  direct  our  thoughts  if  we  will ; 
but  we  cannot  direct  them  if  we  stop  to  ques- 
tion whether  they  are  right.  That  we  must 
Jcnow,  Doubting  disturbs  the  atmosphere  about 
us  to  such  an  extent  as  to  deprive  it  of  all  its 
attractive  force  to  bring  to  us  the  thing  we 
would.  Fear  or  doubt  is  the  mountain  in  our 
way ;  and  there  is  no  reason  to  harbor  either  in 
our  thoughts  for  a  single  moment. 

If,  in  silence,  daily,  we  hold  ourselves  passive 
—receptive  for  the  particular  good  we  most  de^ 
z 


i8  Paths  to  Power. 

sire — we  open  the  way  for  the  creation  of  the  at- 
mosphere that  is  sought.  One  must  come  to 
these  sittings  as  nearly  passive  as  possible ;  but, 
above  all,  free  from  doubt. 

Let  each  one  know  this  is  the  way,  just  as  he 
knows  the  course  he  must  pursue  to  learn  a 
language.  This  is  the  way  to  catch  glimpses 
of  youv  true  ego — your  great,  impersonal  and 
divine  selfhood.  Your  mortal  ego — your  every- 
day self — is  a  product  of  thought.  Allow  it  to 
be  tossed  about  in  the  hurry  and  rush  of  busi- 
ness, receiving  through  the  ethers  the  half- 
expressed  thoughts  of  others,  and  you  have  the 
average  business  man  of  the  world.  Control 
can  never  be  gained  without  discipline.  Your 
atmosphere,  being  a  product  of  thought,  must 
receive  all  its  power  and  force  through  the 
creative  energy  that  gives  it  existence. 

If  one  knows,  then,  that  thought  creates 
atmosphere,  and  that  each  individual  has  the 
right  and  power  to  control  his  own  thoughts, 
our  proposition  is  proved.  Work,  in  the  silence, 
may  be  new  to  some.  It  seems  hardly  fair  to 
call  passiveness  work;  and  yet  work  is 
our  only  word  to  signify  the  path  to  attain- 
ment. To  many  it  will  be  found  serious 
work  to  learn  to  hold  themselves  passive ;  so,  in 
the  silence,  work.     The  moments  spent  in  this 


One*s  Atmosphere.  19 

way  will  do  more  to  advance  you  to  the  end 
than  any  other  thing  you  can  do. 

If  you  have  never  held  yourself  thoughtless- 
silent — know  that  others  have  done  so.  Know- 
ing this,  know  also  that  what  man  has  done, 
man  can  do  again.  Believing  this,  one  may 
commence  his  task,  and  alone,  in  the  silence, 
wait — wait — wait,  until  he  knows. 

Then,  as  knowledge  comes,  he  finds  himself 
attracting  through  vibrations  new  forces  to  his 
aid.  These  silent,  mysterious,  but  potent,  forces 
from  the  Infinite  could  not  reach  him  before. 
Now,  he  has  created  an  atmosphere  which  per- 
mits their  entrance  within  it.  They  will  never 
desert  him  if  only  he  keeps  his  atmosphere  true. 
No  great  will-power  is  required  to  produce  the 
atmosphere  one  desires,  or  to  keep  it  thereafter. 
Willingness  that  it  may  come,  with  the  faith 
and  trust  that  always  precede  works,  is  the 
simple  guide.  The  illumination  that  follows 
will  be  proportioned  to  the  broadness  of  the 
work  attempted.  As  one  learns  more  and 
more  of  the  power  of  his  true  ego,  he  will  come 
to  know  more  and  more  of  the  unity  of  life. 
Then  he  will  not  have  conquered  self.  He  will 
have  simply  become  acquainted  with  his  own 
divine  selfhood. 


GROWTH. 

Growth  is  a  word  of  vast  meaning  and  signi* 
ficance.  Broadly,  we  speak  of  mental  and 
physical  growths.  Each  may  pertain,  as  a  whole, 
to  the  mind  or  to  the  body,  in  general,  or  to 
special  lines  on  which  development  of  mind  or 
body  is  sought.  When  we  speak  of  the  growth 
of  thought,  we  are  considering  the  mental  up- 
reaching  to  a  comprehension  of  truth.  There 
are  other  mental  growths.  One  may,  by  force 
of  will,  discipline  the  thought-center  to  grasp 
the  niceties  in  the  construction  of  language,  to 
acquire  a  fine  appreciation  of  the  exactness  of 
mathematical  laws,  and  so  on.  This  student- 
work  is  good  mental-gymnastics  if  conducted 
rightly,  and  may  prepare  one  for  higher  percep- 
tions, for  true  spiritual  growth.  At  the  same 
time,  this  discipline  may  be  carried  on  in  such 
a  way  as  to  becloud  intellect,  and  so  fetter  un- 
foldment. 

To  understand    the    laws    of    real    mental 

growth,  one  must  remember  that  the  mind  is 

the  spiritual  nature  whose  primary  function  is 

intuitive  perception.    Though  tlie  term  mind  is 

20 


Growth.  21 

often  used  vaguely,  I  shall,  in  this  paper,  use  it 
only  in  its  essential  sense — as  the  higher  ele- 
ment of  the  soul. 

True  growth  of  the  mind  herein  referred  to 
is  not  brought  about  by  storing  in  it  historical 
facts.  The  growth  which  we  seek  is  beyond  the 
usual  teachings.  It  is  rather  a  freeing  of  the  mind 
from  material  fetters  so  it  may  act  for  itself. 
It  is  the  uncovering  and  bringing  to  light  of 
knowledge  already  possessed.  For  ages  this 
has  been  the  problem  of  the  Yogi.  If  one  has 
a  true  conception  of  man  and  of  creative  force, 
and  the  unity  that  binds  and  holds  them  one, 
his  next  step  is  to  bring  himself  into  the  har- 
monious vibrations  that  bind  all,  as  the  vibra- 
tions between  the  atoms  of  wood  and  stone  bind 
their  particles  together ;  then,  the  universe  of 
power  is  his. 

Assuming  the  student  has  fairly  grasped  the 
meaning  of  the  oneness  in  life,  he  next,  before 
putting  himself  into  harmony  with  all  vibrative 
force,  must  recognize  that  vibrations  pass 
through  ethers,  and  in  the  ethers  individual 
atmospheres  are  formed  and  held.  His  finst 
discipline  is  to  make  his  atmosphere  right ;  then, 
and  then  only,  are  harmonious  vibrations  possi- 
ble from  him  to  the  infinite  source  of  power, 
and  from  the  infinite  source  of  power  to  him. 


22  Paths  to  Power. 

Claudius,  Hamlet's  uncle,  knelt  in  prayer,  as 

the  dramatist  tells  us ;  but,  from  his  kneeling 

posture  he  arose  with : 

**  My  words  fly  up,  my  thoughts  remain  below ; 
Words  without  thoughts  never  to  heaven  go." 

His  atmosphere  of  guilt  cut  him  off  from,  and 
prevented  his  connection  with,  the  harmonious 
vibrations  of  infinite  force. 

In  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville,  the  great 
Confederate  general  Stonewall  Jackson's  at- 
mosphere became  disturbed.  His  connection 
with  the  infinite  was  broken,  I  claim,  and  he, 
the  idol  of  the  Southern  army,  whose  power 
over  his  soldiers  had  been  magical,  and  whose 
fearlessness  in  battle  had  carried  him  safely 
through  tempests  of  bullets,  fell,  never  to  rise 
again  in  the  material  body  as  a  leader  of  earth's 
forces  on  the  fields  of  war. 

Jesus  stood  before  Pontius  Pilate,  as  I  read 
the  history,  a  failure.  How  the  atmosphere  of 
him,  the  most  powerful  of  psychics  of  ancient 
or  modern  times,  became  disturbed,  one  may  not 
know.  It  may  have  been  caused  by  the  repeti- 
tion of  the  words,  "  Unless  I  go  away,  the  Com- 
forter will  not  come  to  you."  I  do  not  know 
the  cause ;  but  I  do  claim  to  know  that  a  dis- 
turbing force  did  affect  the  ethers  about  him, 
the  Master.     He  recognized  this,  and  knew  the 


Growth.  23 

vibrations  of  harmony  between  him  and  Infinity 
had  been  broken,  as  the  atoms  of  wood  recog- 
nize the  foreign  force  that  cleaves  them  in 
twain  ;  and  afterward  following  this,  broke  forth 
his  first  and  only  lamentation,  "  My  God,  my 
God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?  '* 

With  these  familiar  illustrations  before  us, 
it  seems  to  me  that  the  logic  of  the  philosophy 
I  present  will  be  understood;  and,  if  accepted, 
we  are  ready  to  enter  upon  its  consideration,  to 
learn  how  we  may  apply  it  to  assist  our  own 
spiritual  growth  or  unfoldment. 

The  power  to  be  gained  by  sitting  in  the 
silence,  by  absolute  passiveness,  by  concentra- 
tion, has  been  told  a  thousand  times.  Hours 
for  concentration  and  helps  to  concentration 
have  been  themes  for  the  teachers'  discourse 
over  and  over  again.  Every  earnest  seeker  for 
truth  finds,  in  his  own  unfoldment,  something 
to  reveal.  Knowing,  as  I  do,  that  only  '*  in  the 
silence  '*  is  real  growth  possible,  I  am  about  to 
present  herein  some  ways  to  reach  the  elemen- 
tary or  primary  condition  when  one  may  go  '*  in 
the  silence  "  understandingly,  and  bring  from 
it  the  knowledge  he  would. 

I  will  here  assume  that  the  seeker  has  broken 
from  the  theological  dogma  of  ignorance,  super- 
Btition  and  fear;  that  he  has  forever  blotted 


24  Paths  to  Power. 

out  from  belief  the  possibility  of  there  being  a 
personal  God,  sitting  in  a  material  heaven  on  a 
material  throne,  welcoming  good  immaterial 
souls  to  this  material  heaven,  and,  with  equal 
justice,  sending  other  immaterial  souls  to  a 
material  hell.  What  could  a  material  heaven 
or  a  material  hell  hold  of  joy  or  fear  to  the  im- 
material soul  ? 

Growth  is  impossible  with  such  conceptions 
of  Being — with  such  ideas  of  possible  material 
future  dwelling-places  for  disembodied  souls. 
Intelligence  is  fast  burying  this  rubbish  of  out- 
worn theological  beliefs  in  unmarked  graves 
beyond  the  possibility  of  resurrection. 

Assuming,  then,  that  you  have  awakened,  or 
have  never  been  enthralled  in  that  nightmare 
of  ignorance,  and  that  God,  or  Being,  means  to 
you,  above  all,  Intelligence;  that  within  this 
Intelligence  is  substance — the  creative  force  of 
the  universe  ;  that  you  are  one  with  that  crea- 
tive force ;  that  you  are  an  atom,  if  you  please, 
in  its  composition — then,  can  you  not  under- 
stand why  it  is  your  right  and  privilege  to  come 
into  harmonious  vibrations  with  all  the  other 
atoms,  with  the  absolute  creative  force  of  the 
universe  ?  This  being  your  bii  thright,  you  want 
what  is  yours.  God  gave  man  dominion  over  all 
the  earth.     You  are  on  the  earjbh — you  are  man. 


Growth.  25 

Do  you  not  now  understand  ?  You  are  seeking 
only  what  Creative  Intelligence  gave  you  ages 
and  ages  ago.  You  are  not  seeking  what  does 
not  belong  to  you,  nor  what  it  is  impossible  for 
you  to  gain  except  by  payment  of  wearisome 
labor.  No  ;  you  are  only  asking  to  know  how 
to  take  the  Almighty's  free  gift  to  you.  Fully 
recognizing  this,  let  me  lead  you,  if  I  may,  to 
the  treasures  all  your  own.  Not  yours  only,  but 
mme.  The  way  is  "  a  strait  and  narrow  one," 
but  it  is  open  to  all.  If,  then,  you  know  your 
birthright — your  oneness  with  God — ^your  way 
to  possession  is,  as  I  tersely  put  it  in  my  very 
introduction,  through  vibrations,  and  these  be- 
come magical  with  power  when  one's  atmos- 
phere is  made  attractive  and  the  channel  of  faith 
laid  open. 

Having  attained  a  true  concept  of  Being,  and 
our  relations  to  the  great  Impersonal  It  of  the 
Universe,  we  are  ready  to  enter  upon  the  study 
of  atmosphere.  The  atmosphere  surrounding 
us  was  not  placed  there  by  our  parents.  We 
must  drop  all  belief  in  the  possibility  of  inherit- 
ing spiritual  qualities.  We  may  give  the  stars 
their  fair  share  of  credit  without  making  them 
our  prison-keepers  as  to  atmosphere.  We,  be- 
ing one  with  God,  and  having  dominion  over 
all  things,  must  not  bow  to  heredity  or  to  the 


26  Paths  to  Power. 

influence  of  the  stars.  "We  cannot  recognize 
any  master,  for,  in  doing  so,  we  would,  in  oui 
first  statement,  be  repeating  idle  words  and  not 
appropriating  the  mighty  truth  they  express. 
Our  atmosphere  then,  marking  our  own  individ- 
uality, may  have  become  very  unwholesome 
through  our  non-recognition  of  the  truth. 
Though  that  may  be  so,  it  is  in  our  power  to 
make  it  what  we  would. 

Now,  the  ways :  From  our  true  selfhood 
springs  the  desire  of  the  hour,  the  desire  of  the 
month  or  year,  the  desire  of  our  life.  Let  it  be, 
for  illustration,  the  recognition  of  a  desire  to 
master  the  thought  and  purpose  of  the  poet, 
Browning.  To  do  this  you  must  bring  yourself 
into  harmony  with  the  vibrations  from  the  In- 
finite that  thrilled  the  intelligence  of  Browning 
as  he  wrote.     How  will  you  accomplish  this  ? 

First,  if  my  argument  is  correct,  you  must 
fix  your  atmosphere — ^you  must  Browningize  it. 
Select  an  hour  for  the  daily  reading  of  Brown- 
ing's poems,  first  giving  attention  to  the  study 
of  his  life,  by  his  best  biographers.  In  the 
study  of  his  life,  pay  especial  attention  to  the 
order  in  which  he  wrote  his  poems — as  far  as 
you  can,  group  them  into  periods  that  mark  his 
literary  growth.  You  will  soon  find  that  this 
particular  hour  in  the  day  or  night  will  have  a 


Growth.  27 

sacredness.  It  will  be  a  dedication  of  that 
time  to  the  thought  of  Browning.  Head  no 
commentaries  on  Browning — study  no  criticism 
on  his  works.  You  are  seeking  guidance  from 
a  higher  source.  You  may,  and  will,  carry 
more  or  less  in  your  daily  work,  whatever  it 
may  be,  your  Browning  atmosphere.  How- 
ever, try  to  overcome  that — during  the  other 
hours  of  the  day  you  may  and  should  (as  far  as 
possible)  lay  aside  all  mental  debates  that  arise 
during  these  hour  sittings.  Leave  them  to  be 
taken  up  on  the  following  day.  Within  a  few 
weeks  you  will  have  finished  the  drudgery  of 
your  work  ;  and,  at  that  hour  each  day,  you 
will  find  new  beauties  in  these  poems.  Sitting 
in  the  same  chair,  in  the  same  room,  and  at  the 
same  hour  each  day,  with  mind  resting  on  his 
thought,  you  will  have  found  a  new  atmos- 
phere, and  that  new  atmosphere  will  be  con- 
genial to  poetic  inspiration  on  the  lines  that 
Browning  found. 

Your  greatest  work  is  now  completed.  You 
have  created  an  atmosphere  the  vibrations  of 
which  will  attract  from  the  infinite  forces  of  the 
universe  just  what  you  need  to  bring  you  the  ful- 
filment of  your  desire.  Now  you  may  lay  aside 
your  books,  repeating,  however,  often  in  the 
silence  some    of  the   poems,  particularly  those 


28  Paths  to  Power. 

that  once  seemed  meaningless  or  mystical  to  you* 
Your  atmosphere  having  been  made  right  to  ac- 
complish your  purpose,  the  vibratory  forces  now 
merge  you  into  the  infinite  oneness,  where  all  is 
revealed.  Stilly  you  must  learn  to  be,  or  you 
will  disturb  these  vibrations.  New  meanings  to 
these  poems  will  come  to  you — their  beauty 
ana  their  philosophy  will  be  yours.  Possibly, 
in  the  stillness,  at  times,  you  will  almost  feel 
the  presence  of  Browning,  and  the  clairvoyant, 
if  present,  might  see  him  bending  over  you. 
Better  than  all,  from  within  you  will  be  told 
that  you  have  fathomed  the  mysticism  of 
Browning,  and  intuitionally  you  will  know  that 
you  have  come  into  the  same  harmonious 
thought-vibrations  that  made  Browning  a 
genius,  and  made  you  to  appreciate  and  under- 
stand his  greatness. 

For  another  example,  and  one  most  practical, 
let  me  take  that  of  desire  for  money  at  a  par- 
ticular time,  to  help  one  out  of  a  particularly 
embarrassing  position.  This  is  really  the  prob- 
lem of  the  age — of  the  day — of  the  hour.  The 
failure  that  many  make  to  draw  from  the  in- 
finite what  they  need  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
their  anxiety  brings  them  a  repelling  rather 
than  an  attracting  atmosphere.  Overcome 
that  one  must^  or  the  supply  from  the  infinite 


Growth.  29 

can  never  reach  the  seeker.  Here  you  will 
note  that  the  atmosphere  created  by  severe  ten- 
sion of  the  mental  forces  breaks  off  harmonious 
vibrations  from  the  fountain  of  supply.  To 
again  connect  your  selfhood  (entity)  with  the 
source  of  all  wealth,  look  first  to  your  atmos- 
phere. If  you  accept  *  and  believe  the  truths  of 
the  philosophy  as  I  have  herein  presented  them, 
you  know  the  way.  Follow  it.  Turn  not  to 
money-lenders  or  to  friends  indiscriminately — 
the  so-called  "  hustler  "  does  that ;  and  if  he 
hustles  hard  enough,  he  may  find  (stumble  on) 
the  harmonious  chord,  though  having  first 
broken  a  thousand  other  chords  of  harmony's 
harp,  which  may  not  be  easily  mended. 

The  true  way,  the  only  way,  is  to  wait  in  the 
silence  till  you  again  make  your  atmosphere 
true.  If  your  needs  are  pressing,  intensify,  not 
your  anxiety,  but  your  stillness.  Let  your  in- 
tensity express  itself  in  hope  and  faith  and 
trust.  Your  philosophy,  if  you  have  learned 
your  lesson  right,  long  ago  would  have  told 
you  there  were  no  devils.  If  no  devils,  then  no 
fear — if  no  fear, then  no  possible  cause  for  anxiety. 

Do  you  tell  me  that  the  plane  of  absolute 
faith  and  trust,  beautiful  and  grand  though  it 
be,  is  a  slippery  one  for  mortal  feet  to  rest  upon  ? 
If  so,  you  have  made  it  so  by  wrong  thinking, 


30  Paths  to  Power. 

and  by  asserting  untruths.  If  you  are  one 
with  all  creative  force,  all  power  is  yours. 
Hold  this  truth— assert  it,  and  forever  banish 
every  devil  (evil)  from  your  consciousness. 

Yet  you  may  be  prompted  to  ask,  What  if  we 
stumble  or  fail  ?  Do  not  even  ask  that  ques- 
tion— do  not  speak  those  words  as  having 
power  over  you.  Remember,  once  Jesus  failed 
— the  harmonious  vibrations  between  himself 
and  all  infinite  force  were  stopped ;  yet,  even  then 
and  thereby,  the  whole  waiting  world  learned 
a  new  truth  that  he,  who  had  overcome  sick- 
ness and  sorrow  and  suffering  and  poverty,  had 
also  overcome  man's  historically  named  "  great- 
est enemy,"  Death. 

Sometimes  we  ought  to  fail — later  experi- 
ence with  their  lessons  prove  it.  We  did  not 
fully  understand,  it  may  be,  the  real  purpose 
of  the  desire  ;  but  our  faith,  if  we  have  merged 
ourselves  in  this  philosophy  as  we  should, 
ought  to  be  great  enough  to  teach  us  to  know 
that  all  is  well,  and  to  enable  us  to  thank  the 
infinite  force  of  creation  even  for  seeming 
failure.  On  the  earth-plane  we  may  not  always 
be  able  to  distinguish  between  the  real  and  the 
seeming.  Let  us  in  faith  always  hold  in  mind 
that  even  failure  can  be  to  us  only  the  alphabet 
to  success. 


CJrowth.  31 

To  attain  the  purpose  which  forms  what  we 
call  the  ambition  of  our  lives,  we  must  first,  in 
the  silence,  learn  if  it  be  simply  an  idle  wish  or 
a  spiritual  desire  of  the  soul.  It  will  be  told 
us  as  we  wait ;  and,  if  a  real  desire,  it  will 
prove  itself  such  from  within.  Recognizing 
that,  we  know  it  is  God's  message  of  promise  ; 
then  our  work  begins.  We  turn  first  to  books 
relating  to  the  subject  in  question  and  read 
them,  that  their  influence  may  help  us  to  throw 
out  attracting  forces  on  the  ethers  surrounding 
us.  Our  prayers  are  not  rhetorical  climaxes, 
nor  the  half-expressed  longings  of  a  declared 
unworthy  to  be  recipient.  We  know  we  are 
worthy — God  told  us  that  when  He  touched 
the  chord  whose  vibrations  thrilled  and  filled 
our  being  with  the  glorious  truth  that  real 
desire  held  in  itself  the  bright  promise  of 
attainment.  Our  silent  hours,  regularly  and 
sacredly  kept  for  the  purpose,  first,  of  making 
our  atmosphere  true,  are  our  seasons  for  com- 
munications with  the  Infinite  God — with  Him 
with  whom  we  are  one.  This  mighty  Imper- 
sonality we  cannot  define  ;  but  yet,  this  infinite 
force  we  can  appropriate.  Hardly  have  we  com- 
pleted our  elementary  task  as  to  perfecting  our 
atmosphere,  before  the  true  vibrations  begin. 
We  do  not  force  them — we  cannot.     With  our 


32  Paths  to  Power. 

atmosphere  true,  they  begin  their  outreaching 
and  their  intermingling — the  great  harmony 
sought  for  has  come.  Oh,  how  true  the  words, 
when  we  understand  them,  "  For  my  yoke  is 
easy,  and  my  burden  is  light !  " 

Seekers  for  truth — wherever  you  may  be — 
tell  the  world  now  waiting  of  the  pearls  you 
have  found.  Herein  I  present  you  with  an 
easier  way  than  the  Yogis  of  India  have  prac- 
tised. I  have  proven  its  worth,  but  find 
another,  if  it  seem  best  in  your  particular  case. 
Know,  above  all  things,  that  vibrative  harmony 
must  be  gained  to  bring  you  into  oneness  with 
Being.  Find  the  path  to  this.  Growth,  then, 
begins  with  the  finding  of  one's  divine  self* 
hood,  and  is  sustained  by  linking  that  selfhood, 
through  soul-vibrations,  to  the  Immanent  God. 

**  He  has  found  himself  who  knoweth, 

That  the  power  he  may  crave 
Reveals  itself,  and  showeth 

That  it  came  but  when  he  gave — 
Gave  of  himself  to  other  souls 

Who  struggle  hard  and  long 
To  choose  the  path  from  varied  ones 

That  join  ;  but  in  the  throng 
Are  jostled,  wearied,  spent,  and  worn, 

And  find  no  peace  or  rest. 
'TIS  not  of  other's  knowledge  born, 

But  deep  within  each  breast." 


A  PSYCHIC  LAW  IN  STUDENT  WORK. 

The  progress  made  during  the  past  fifty  years 
in  the  work  of  the  schools  is  something  marvel- 
ous. The  actual  work  done  in  our  preparatory 
schools  and  our  colleges,  embracing  a  period  of 
eight  years  of  study,  is  stupendous  compared 
with  what  was  done  during  the  same  period  of 
time  fifty  years  ago.  Then,  students  carried 
their  pallor  on  their  faces ;  now,  their  faces  are 
ruddy  with  the  glow  of  health.  There  is  much 
to  be  said  in  favor  of  a  method  that  has  brought 
about  such  results. 

Divers  causes  may  be  assigned  for  this  im- 
provement. In  part,  it  may  be  attributed  to 
better  teaching,  but  one  may  ask  what  brought 
about  that  better  teaching.  In  part,  it  may  be 
attributed  to  the  ascending  scale  of  more  gen- 
erally diffused  intelligence — to  the  more  syste- 
matic courses  of  instruction  from  the  primary 
schools  on — to  the  advanced  age  and  to  its  de- 
mands. Giving  to  each  and  all  of  these  factors 
their  full  measure  of  compliment,  to  my  mind, 
the  true  cause — the  real  factor — is  behind  them 
3  3i 


34  Paths  to  Power, 

all.  It  is  to  be  found  in  a  psychic  law  which 
has  to  some  extent  asserted  itself  by  bringing 
the  consciousness  of  teacher  and  student  within 
its  direction.  If  this  be  true,  a  full  recognition 
of  this  law  may  make  all  student  tasks  light 
and  eliminate  drudgery  absolutely  from  his 
life.  Though  the  general  health  of  students  in 
this  day  is  excellent,  we  still  have  too  many 
cases  of  what  physicians  call  broken  constitu- 
tions, under  pressure  of  the  work  demanded  to 
attain  high  ranking  in  the  classes.  If  a  knowl- 
edge of  this  law  will  relieve  this  pressure,  who 
would  not  welcome  it  ? 

Let  us  see  if  we  can  discover  it.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  the  year's  work  in  the  autumn, 
the  good  student  will  observe  that  it  usuallj'- 
takes  him  some  weeks  before  he  can  prepare 
any  lesson  to  his  complete  satisfaction.  In  fact, 
they  (the  tasks)  seem  anything  but  a  part  of 
himself — they  are  so  foreign  to  his  whole  com- 
position— there  is  not  the  least  blending  be- 
tween him  and  them.  Even  though  he  may 
make  a  good  record  in  class,  he  knows  he  has 
been  repeating  information  he  has  gathered — 
not  presenting  knowledge  which  he  has  made 
his  own.  A  few  weoks  and  the  blending  begins 
— lessons  are  more  easily  mastered,  and  he  has 
entered  into  friendly  relations  with  his  foreign 


A  Psychic  Law  in  Student  Work.     35 

acquaintances.  This  is  the  natural  result  of 
careful  study  does  one  say,  and  that  is  all.  If 
a  natural  result,  there  must  be  a  cause — a  law. 
Within  that  law  there  may  be  volumes  that 
ought  to  be  lodged  in  our  consciousness. 

Just  here  another  fact  is  to  be  noted,  and  that 
is  that  all  good  students  have  fixed  hours  each 
day  in  which  to  prepare  each  lesson.  If  I  were 
to  ask  this  or  that  one  why  he  selected  one 
hour  for  Latin,  another  for  geometry,  another 
for  Greek,  and  kept  those  hours  almost  sacredly 
for  each,  he  would  probably  say  he  did  not 
know.  He  began  the  term  that  way  and  kept 
it  up.  Another  equally  good  student  in  the 
same  class  has  made  a  different  selection  as  to 
the  hours  when  he  prepares  his  lessons.  Each 
feels  conscious  that  the  plan  selected  by  him- 
self is  best  for  himself,  and  each  is  right. 

We  talk  too  much  about  unconscious  mental 
action.  Even  some  of  our  metaphysical  writers 
do  not  seem  to  recognize  that  sub-conscious 
mental  action  is  an3^thing  but  unconscious 
action.  It  brings  to  us  often  the  highest  intu- 
itive knowledge.  To  distinguish  between  con- 
scious and  sub-conscious  thought  is  to  take  a 
long  step  toward  the  attainment  of  the  wisdom 
of  the  Yogi.  The  student  usually,  in  selecting 
the  hour  for  the  preparation  of  this  or  that  les- 


36  Paths  to  Power. 

son,  is  directed  by  sub-conscious  thought-action 
• — he  always  is  when  he  finds  that  hour  espe« 
cially  congenial  for  the  particular  work  assigned 
it.  The  psychic  law  I  am  trying  to  tell  you  of, 
therefore,  embraces  within  itself  both  time  and 
method. 

In  some  cases  the  selection  of  the  hour  or 
time  for  work  on  each  particular  study  may  not 
be  of  serious  importance.  If  the  student  come 
to  his  work  with  a  heaviness  as  though  he  were 
half  wearied  before  he  commences,  he  best  sit 
quietly  passive  and  ask  the  question  as  to  the 
hour  he  select  for  the  task.  Often  he  will  find 
the  answer  spring  forth  in  such  manner  that  he 
will  ask  "  Who  said  that  ?  "  Sometimes  he  may 
hear  the  single  word,  *'Now."  We  are  all 
more  or  less  aware  of  these  spontaneous  answers 
or  suggestions — have  we  been  conscious  as  to 
their  origin?  This  is  the  way,  the  intuitional 
speaks  to  consciousness.  Let  the  student  learn 
to  trust  it.  The  hour  selected  rightly,  let  him 
remember  that  the  attainment  of  knowledge 
is  not  a  cramming  process.  He  is  not  about 
to  try  to  put  something  inside,  he  is  trying  to 
learn  how  to  use  what  is  already  tliere. 

If  the  student  has  yet  given  no  time  to  meta- 
physical studies,  I  would  ask  that  he  practise 
the  plan  suggested  herein  without  inquiring  as 


A  Psychic  Law  in  Student  Work.     37 

to  the  philosophy  on  which  it  stands.  To  try 
to  elaborate  that  would  require  far  greater  space 
than  I  here  set  for  my  limits,  and  the  practical 
purpose  of  this  paper  might  be  lost.  Mental 
development  seems  to  me  always  a  misnomer, 
for  development  suggests  a  working  over  by 
the  introduction  of  something  new.  Instead  of 
there  being  development,  there  is  simply  an  un- 
folding. One  is  not  adding  new  powers  to  the 
mind ;  he  is  simply  calling  forth  the  latent  ones. 
Each  study  rightly  pursued  will  aid  in  doing 
this ;  and  the  unfolding  or  the  uncovering  can 
be  made  a  series  of  delightful  incidents  which 
always  uplift  and  never  break  down. 

First,  the  student,  by  his  work,  cultivates  an 
atmosphere  of  attractiveness  and  force.  The 
etymology  and  syntax  of  his  Latin  grammar  fill 
his  thought  with  the  exactness  and  the  perfec- 
tion of  that  tongue.  He  images  the  men  who 
mastered  that  language  as  men  of  force — men 
to  conquer.  Virgil  expands  imagination,  link- 
ing mortals  to  immortals ;  Cicero's  periods 
bewilder  him  with  their  masterly  brilliancy. 
He  finds  himself  mentally  watching  for  some- 
thing beyond  the  petty  seeking  for  the  meaning 
of  the  words,  and  their  grammatical  relation- 
ship to  each  other.  This  puts  the  mind  in  con- 
dition to  receive  the  vibrations  from  the  ethers 


38  Paths  to  Power. 

in  harmony  with  the  atmosphere  created.  This 
means  the  unfolding — the  awakening  to  knowl- 
edge ;  not  the  crowding  of  something  into  the 
storehouse  of  the  soul.  That  storehouse  pos- 
sesses wealths  of  experience — the  student  is  seek- 
ing its  treasures,  and,  possibly,  adding  some  new 
ones  thereto. 

However,  let  us  leave  the  philosophy.  To 
point  the  way  to  delight  in  study  is  what  I 
promised.  The  student  has  selected  the  hour 
to  begin  the  work  in  each,  and  understands  that 
no  change  is  to  be  made  as  to  those  allotments. 
Next,  he  is  to  drop  all  thoughts  of  learning  dif- 
ficult tasks  or  of  self-sacrifice  for  knowledge. 
There  is  no  self-sacrifice  about  it — he  is  giving 
these  hours  to  the  unfoldment  of  powers  with- 
in. This  wrongly-called  work  is  now  his  season 
of  communication  with  his  real  selfhood.  Its 
vibrative  force  he  does  not  know,  but  he  soon 
becomes  conscious  of  its  far-reachingness  to  in- 
finite force.  Instead  of  his  learning  the  lesson, 
all  nature  seems  to  have  come  to  his  aid,  and 
he  has  absorbed  it,  not  memorized  it.  This  task 
is  not  a  foreign  substance  to  be  introduced  into  a 
receptacle  called  mind.  Now,  it  has  become 
an  integral  part  of  his  selfhood.  He  cannot 
lose  it ;  and,  though  memory  has  been  a  func- 
tion to  aid  in  grasping,  the  possibility  of  forget- 


A  Psychic  Law  in  Student  Work.     39 

ting  is  not  tenable  for  an  instant.  Such  an  ab- 
sorption of  a  lesson  occasionally  comes  to  any 
student.  If  the  psychic  law  of  atmosphere  and 
vibrations  (and  fixed  hours  held  solely  for  the 
special  work  each  day  are  primary  requisites) 
is  kept  religiously  ;  such  absorption  or  assimila- 
tion will  delight  the  student,  and  bring  to  him 
the  joyousness  of  intelligent  unfoldment,  during 
those  seasons  which  formerly  were  to  him  hours 
of  toil.  I  advise,  of  course,  that  he  start  each 
day  in  as  happy  a  frame  of  mind  as  he  can. 
This  cheerfulness  may  require  a  little  effort  at 
first,  because  he  may  have  been  in  the  habit  of 
thinking  these  study-hours  wearisome.  How- 
ever happy  the  mastery  of  the  lesson  may  have 
made  him,  its  accomplishment  meant  work. 
Even  after  the  work  was  done,  and  excellently 
done,  he  may  have  turned  to  the  next  task  with 
some  fears  that  memory  might  prove  treacher- 
ous the  following  day.  With  a  true  recognition 
of  mental  unfoldment  which  this  method  will 
soon  bring,  there  can  be  no  possible  lodgment 
for  such  fears,  or  any  fears. 

Just  here  comes  a  suggestion  one  must  not 
overlook.  As  the  studies  are  usually  arranged, 
the  student  never  has  more  than  five  recitations 
in  any  one  study  per  week,  sometimes  not 
more  than  three.     He  has  been  accustomed  to 


40  Paths  to  Power. 

devote,  therefore,  but  three  or  five  seasons  of 
study  to  the  particular  subject  each  week, ^nd 
yet  there  are  seven  days  in  the  week.  This  has 
been  the  error  —  his  subconscious  thought 
started  him  right,  but  the  requirements  of  the 
curriculum  upset  much  of  the  psychic  power  he 
had  begun  to  accumulate.  There  must  be  no 
break.  The  hours  must  be  kept  daily — Sun- 
days and  Saturdays,  and  all  holidays  alike. 
One  may  shorten  the  time  somewhat,  if  the 
the  lessons  cannot  be  made  to  fill  it ;  but  start 
always  at  precisely  the  same  hour  each  day. 
The  prevailing  idea  that  the  mind  needs  rest  is 
all  very  well  in  one  way,  but  to  overthrow  this 
plan,  even  one  day  in  every  week,  is  to  dis- 
turb atmosphere  and  vibrations,  and  to  fetter 
unfoldment.  When  the  vacation  season  comes, 
and  the  lessons  of  the  year  are  passed,  then 
some  new  unfolding  begins — possibly  without 
any  appeal  to  books.  The  only  serious  embar- 
rassment in  this  daily  work  may  be  found, 
perhaps,  from  the  fact  that  a  portion  of  it,  at 
least,  will  be  done  in  the  afternoon,  and  Satur- 
day afternoon  is  a  delightful  time  for  bicycling 
and  matinees.  As  to  one  day  out  of  the  week, 
from  either  of  these  amusements  the  student 
need  not  be  barred.  If  riding,  and  the  hour 
comes,  let  him  rest  his  thoughts  on  that  bourns 


A  Psychic  Law  in  Student  Work.     41 

ullotted  task,  and  image  to  himself  what  it 
brought.  He  can  also  do  the  same  thing  for  a 
few  momjents  at  the  matinee,  and  yet  not  lose 
my  essential  part  of  the  performance.  Students 
whq_fairly  teat  this  method  will  never  turn  from 
i^..  If  its  philosophy  interest  them,  and  it  will, 
they  may  later  enter  into  its  consideration .  This 
will  bring  them  to  know  the  oneness  of  life,  of 
which  so  many  speak  without  grasping  the  awfol 
meaning  held  in  the  word,  UnM^ 


UNFOLDMENT.* 

The  story  of  biography  that  entrances  the 
reader  is  that  of  the  development  of  the  individ- 
ual, the  noting  of  the  successive  mental 
stages  reached,  which  mark  the  unfolding  of  the 
latent  powers  of  tlie  hero.  One  may  fix  his  gaze 
on  the  brilliancy  of  the  achievement  with  rapt 
admiration,  but  the  path  to  it  is  what  interests 
most — the  path  standing  out  clear,  with  the 
monuments  on  the  way,  speaking  the  symbolic 
language  of  Growth. 

Around  the  men  whose  names  are  renowned 
in  history  as  ^^jjio^  or:^tateaiXLen,  diai^yereja 
or  i;w,e,nJ;aKS,  scientists  or  reLtprmers,  qi'ators  or 
poets,  there  has  been  woven  the  veil  of  mystery  ; 
we  have,  by  common  consent,  placed  them  on 
pedestals,  and  worshiped  the  ideals  we  created 
from  the  reals  we  did  not  understand.  We 
thought  it  both  human  and  noble  to  do  this, 
and  from  the  standpoint  of  sentiment  we  were 
right.  To-day  the  mental  waves  of  the  thought- 
current  of  the  closing  years  of  another  century 

*Read  before  the  School  of  Philosophy,  New  York, 
October  2,  1899. 
42 


Unfoldment.  43 

arrest  our  attention  and  tell  of  the  real  (or 
divine)  lesson  taught  by  these  histories. 

The  law  of  unfoldment  is  a  discovery.  Long 
ago  we  had  read  and  accepted  Emerson's  state- 
ment of  truth  that  "  God  enters  by  a  private 
door  into  every  individual,"  but  we  had  most 
vague  ideas  as  to  what  "  God  "  meant,  and  we 
did  not  know  the  way  of  the  "  private  door,"  so 
this  acceptance  brought  us  nothing.  Then 
through  the  darkness  there  came  upon  us  re- 
vealings  from  the  unknown.  The}'  were  not 
the  accepted  conclusions  from  a  developed 
philosophy.  No,  truths  seemed  to  be  forced 
upon  the  intellect — a  stream  of  knowledge 
swept  around  us  whose  course  and  source  were 
undiscovered  and  unexplored.  Mystified,  we 
called  it  occultism,  and  included  under  that 
head  a  world  of  phenomena  and  thought- 
speculation  which  modern  philosophy  had  not 
yet  classified.  Thinking  men  and  women  began 
to  enter  its  dark  portals — some  in  search  of  one 
demonstration,  some  another.  Within  those  dim 
corridors  the  story  of  unfoldment  is  \earned ; 
and  now,  as  it  breaks  on  us  in  brightness,  we 
are  declaring  occultism  shall  be  occultism  no 
more,  and  that  light  shall  scatter  all  darkness. 

Now  we  know  how  blindly  men  have  worked 
— how  they   have  been  led  without  ever  dis- 


44  Paths  to  Power. 

covering  their  leadership.  We  know  now  how 
they  might  have  freed  their  paths  from  hundreds 
of  the  barriers  on  their  way  had  they  only  rec- 
ognized the  law.  We  know  now  why  the  most 
successful  ones  have  been  the  most  diffident 
upon  hearing  their  own  praises  sung ;  and,  in 
the  language  of  Emerson,  declared,  "  Not  unto 
us,  not  unto  us." 

Though  we  have  grasped  some  of  the  great 
truths  revealing  the  true  selfhood,  and  feel  we 
have  merged  ourselves  within  them,  are  we  yet 
really  acquainted  with  the  law  of  unfoldment  ? 
Were  we  absolute  masters  of  it  we  would  be 
the  greatest  of  Yogis.  The  Hindoos  call  such 
mastery  Pranayama,  for  all  the  forces  have  been 
by  them  generalized  into  Prana,  and  he  who 
has  grasped  Prana  has  grasped  all  the  iorces  qI 
the  universe,  mental  and  physical. 

The  Hindoos,  it  seems  to  me,  more  than  all 
other  philosophers  recognize  the  unity  of  all 
life — the  divine  individual  selfhood,  responding 
through  vibrations  with  creative  energy,  and  the 
oneness  of  spirit  that  illuminates  all  souls.  I  do 
not  care  to  go  into  nomenclature  as  a  rule,  but 
let  me  try  to  make  mj'^self  clear  as  to  my  use  of 
the  word  soul ;  for,  from  my  standpoint,  it  is 
our  acquaintance  with  it  and  with  ways  of  reach- 
ing it,  that  we  are  considering  in  the  lesson  of 


Unfoldment.  45 

nnfoldment.  Man's  individuality  is  determined 
by  the  endowments  of  his  soul,  ^he  endow- 
nients  of  every  soul  are  powers,  faculties^  and 
capacities.  Again,  we  may  speak  of  these  as  to 
know,  to  feel,  and  to  choose^  and  designate  them 
as  the  intellect,  the  sensibility/,  and  the  w;^  In 
these  endowments,  and  their  development  and 
exercise,  must  always  be  found  the  traits  we 
call  character,  in  the  individual. 

The  soul,  ever  enduring,  ever  enlarging,  is 
the  immortal  but  changing  plane  of  the  entity, 
man.  It  vibrates  with  creative  force.  Through 
it,  is  the  path  to  all  knowledge.  Within  itself 
memory  sits,  the  emotions  repose,  the  imagina- 
tion rises,  and  will  and  purpose  find  their  en- 
thronement. The  soul,  therefore,  is  rich  in  its 
possessions,  yet  the  soul  is  dormant  to  conscious 
mind  unless  illuminated  by  Spirit.  Spirit  is 
the  light  of  the  soul.  Spirit  is  God.  Spirit  is 
universal.  By  it  is  man  bound  to  the  entire 
cosmos ;  through  it  must  he  recognize  his 
divinity,  his  oneness  with  God,  the  creative 
impersonal  essence,  energy  and  force  of  the 
universe. 

To  develop  or  unfold,  then,  is  that  one  should 
acquaint  himself  with  and  learn  how  to  use  his 
own  soul  force.  I  do  not  like  the  word  develop, 
because  it  is  not  a  correct  word  here.     There  is 


4^  Paths  to  Power. 

no  such  thing  as  the  conscious  self's  developing 
the  true  selfhood.  Conscious  self  has  a  work 
to  do  that  the  powers  of  the  soul  may  unfold 
and  express  themselves;  it  may  suggest,  rec- 
ognizing that  the  soul  waits  for  suggestion, 
and  then  it  must  learn  how  to  be  absolutely 
still.  The  gunner  carefully  moves  the  gun  on 
i^ts  pivot,  this  way  and  that,  till  the  mark  is 
covered;  tjien,  fixing  it  firmly  still,  ^  touch 
S^nds  the  ball  forward  on  its  errand.  Your 
thought,  your  suggestion,  is  the  ball.  Once 
sent  forth,  let  conscious  mind  know  it  has  per- 
formed its  part,  and,  in  faith  and  silence,  await 
the  response  of  the  soul. 

Within  the  soul,  with  its  far-reaching  endow- 
ments, then,  we  find  the  storehouse  of  wisdom  ; 
to  unfold  is  to  learn  the  conscious  entrance  into 
that  storehouse.  How  did  that  storehouse  be- 
come filled  with  all  this  knowledge,  do  you 
ask  ?  The  superficial  answer  to  this  question  is, 
through  the  action,  conscious  and  subconscious, 
of  the  mind,  in  filling  this  reservior  to  be  called 
on  in  times  of  need.  We  who  know  the  truths 
of  the  philosophy  of  repeated  incarnations,  and 
of  the  soul's  vibrative  energy  reaching  to  the 
Source  agree  with  Emerson  that  the  "^soul  of 
tlia-cliild  ia^s  mature  as  the  soul  of  the  sage." 
We  recognize,  therefore,  that  the  soul  has  been 


Unfoldment.  47 

gathering  value  to  itself  for  countless  ages; 
and  that,  if  we  discover  how  to  consciously  en- 
ter that  sacred  enclosure,  its  treasures  will  be 
our  conscious  possession.  To  each,  in  the 
economy  of  the  divine  law,  is  given  the  right 
and  power  to  enter  into  this  temple  of  infinite 
supply,  and  help  himself  to  all  his  fondest  de- 
sire reaches  for,  if  he  will. 

It  is  but  fair  to  myself  and  my  subject  that  I 
say  just  here,  that  this  discipline  for  the  unfold- 
ing of  one's  powers,  in  its  entirety,  constitutes 
and  embraces  the  purpose  of  being,  the  divine 
object  of  existence.  He  who  grasps  this  truth 
and  faithfully  devotes  himself  to  the  calling 
forth  of  the  powers  of  the  soul  will  never  ask 
the  question,  "  Is  life  worth  living  ?  "  He  will 
know  that,  infinitesimal  cell  or  atom  of  the 
mighty  universe  though  he  may  be,  even  he  is 
needful  to  the  creative  force  of  the  Immanent 
God. 

It  may  be  well  to  pause  here  before  taking 
the  first  step,  and  honestly  inquire  how  much 
of  truth's  light  has  penetrated  and  intrenched 
itself  within  our  consciousness.  Have  we  made 
acquaintance  with  our  own  souls?  Have  we 
lifted  the  curtain  of  the  earth-plane,  conscious 
logic,  high  enough  to  catch  the  view  of  the  great 
background  of  our  being  ?    Is  our  real  selfhood 


48  Paths  to  Power. 

an  unknown  volume  to  us  ?  Do  we  guess  or  hope, 
or  do  we  know  there  are  latent  powers  in  the  soul 
to  be  uncovered — to  be  unfolded  ?  Let  us  look 
for  the  proofs.  In  school  days,  have  you  never 
worked  late  over  a  problem  and  retired  weary 
and  half-discouraged,  then  joyously  awakened 
a  few  hours  later,  realizing  that  the  solution  had 
come?  Sometimes  you  felt  you  must  rise  and 
write  it  down,  and  sometimes  you  knew  you 
could  safely  wait  till  morning.  Unconsciously, 
you  then  have  said,  the  problem  was  solved, 
Now,  however,  you  must  be  taught  to  speak 
more  scientifically.  There  is  no  such  thing  as 
unconscious  mental  action  ;  all  mental  action  is 
either  conscious,  or  subconscious.  The  course 
©f  subconscious  mental  action  is  often  not  clear 
tp^conscious  mind.  At  times  it  baffles  even  the 
wisdom  of  the  Yogi.  Subconscious  mental 
action  may  be  the  acceptance  on  the  part  of  the 
soul  of  a  suggestion  from  conscious  mind,  and 
logically  carrying  it  forward  till  an  end  or  pur- 
pose is  attained.  Again,  it  may  be  the  bring- 
ing of  the  will  into  vigorous  action  by  a  sug- 
gestion, so  that  dormant  or  newly-created  brain 
cells  send  forward  such  electric  force  that  a 
hitherto  concealed  compartment  of  the  soul  is 
broken  into  and  its  treasures  disclosed,  and  thea 
passed  to  conscious  possession. 


Unfoldment.  49 

In  the  illustration  just  given,  desire  was  so 
strong  that  it  hurled  thought  forward  till  it 
found  lodgment  in  subconscious  mind,  after  the 
conscious  was  lost  in  slumber.  Then,  illumi- 
nating Spirit,  that  always  shines,  bathed  the 
image  firmly  held  before  it  by  subconscious 
thought,  and  the  brilliancy  of  the  picture  daz- 
zled the  senses  and  awakened  consciousness 
from  slumber  to  light  and  truth.  You  did  not 
dream  the  solution  of  the  problem,  you  simply 
found  the  way  to  the  storehouse  of  wisdom  in 
the  exhaustless  bank  of  the  soul,  a  mental 
bank  whose  deposits  ever  increase  as  repeated 
drafts  are  made.  Some  of  the  spiritualists 
would  explain  this  quite  differently.  They 
would  say  your  guardian  spirits  came  and 
brought  you  the  knowledge  you  craved.  In  this, 
I  do  not  seriously  disagree  with  them,  though 
the  potent  force  always  lies  back  of  the  effect. 
Your  desire,  your  crystallized  thought,  coupled 
with  faith,  created  an  attractive  atmosphere. 
That  was  the  cause.  Spirit  force  could  not  reach 
youKtillyou  opened  the  way.  That  done,  the 
clairvoyant  could  doubtless  have  seen  spirits 
around  you  and  trying  to  aid  you  ;  and,  if  gifted 
with  clairaudience  as  well,  she  might  have  heard 
the  voices.  They  are  of  the  infinite  force  of  spirit, 
and  so  aided  in  the  illuminating ;  and  yet,  all 
4, 


50  Paths  to  Power. 

these  apparently  divers  forces  are  one,  for  Spirit 
is  all,  and  one  of  its  purposes  is  to  awaken  con- 
scious mind  to  the  limitless  powers  of  the  soul. 
Messages  (some  fraught  with  wonderful  mean- 
ing) may  be  brought  you  by  others  who  are 
either  in  earth  or  in  spirit  life  ;  butJinowledge 
canij^  be-- brought  you  by  any  one,  it  comes 
from  the  working  out  of  a  mental  process  with- 
in. If  you  have  worked  it  out  in  a  previous 
incarnation,  in  this,  you  have  only  to  uncover. 
Unless  you  feel  completely  convinced  that 
my  argument  as  to  the  real  source  of  knowl- 
edge is  correct,  you  cannot  enter  upon  the 
course  I  am  about  to  suggest  and  find  it. 
Glance  at  the  records  of  history  for  a  moment. 
Who  taught  Joan  of  Arc  warfare  ?  Where  did 
Galileo  and  Kepler  learn  the  music  of  the 
spheres  ?  Who  taught  Homex  to  compose  and 
sing  heroic  poems  two  hundred  years  and  more 
before  the  Greeks  had  an  alphabet?  Where 
did  Swedenborg  learn  the  language  of  the 
angels  ?  Who  taught  Lincoln  statesmanship  ? 
And  whence  Napoleon's  inspiration  when  he 
declared,  "  Impossible  is  the  adjective  of  fools  "  ? 
There  is,  in  my  philosophy,  but  one  reply  to  all 
these  questions :  They  each  and  all  found  their 
way  to  the  mighty  reservoir  of  knowledge — 
they  made  acquaintance  with  their  own  souls 


Unfoldment.  51 

and    appropriated     its    treasures  —  "  Within, 
within's  the  light." 

•*  Truth  speaks  in  the  senseless,  the  Spirit ; 
But  here  in  this  palpable  part 
We  sound  the  low  notes,  but  are  silent 
To  music  sublimed  in  the  heart. 

**  Too  few  and  too  gross  our  dull  senses, 
And  clogged  with  the  mire  of  the  road. 
Till  we  loathe  their  coarse  bondage ;  as  sea  birds, 
Engaged  on  a  cliff,  look  abroad 

"  On  the  ocean  and  limitless  heaven, 
Alight  with  the  beautiful  stars. 
And  hear  what  they  say,  not  the  creakings 
That  rise  from  our  sensual  bars." 

If,  then,  we  are  agreed  where  knowledge  is, 
we  need  not  scatter  force  by  looking  for  it 
where  it  is  not.  We  know  the  secret  place, 
and  each  must  enter  for  himself.  He  then  ap- 
propriates what  is  his  own.  Desire  told  of  the 
treasures  in  the  storehouse,  and  let  this  teach 
each  one  the  sacredness  of  desire.  Desire  to 
eat  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowledge  is, 
therefore,  God's  message  telling  us  what  is 
ours  if,  we  will. 

"  Seek  not  with  an  anxious  look, 
Quiet  your  worried  mind. 
Know  these  words  are  true  indeed, 
Seek  and  you  must  find. 


52  Paths  to  Power. 

''  Think  not  that  to  gain  your  wish 
You  must  so  and  so  believe, 
Forget  not  the  truth  of  this, 
Ask  and  then  you  must  receive." 

Now,  we  are  seeking  an  entrance  within  the 
temple  not  made  with  hands ;  eternal,  in  the 
heavens.  The  way  is  a  '*  straight  and  narrow 
way,  and  few  there  be  that  find  it,"  said  the 
greatest  of  Yogis,  whose  communion  with  his 
soul  was  so  absolute  that  it  dominated  his  con- 
scious self.  In  giving  instructions  he  always 
spoke  from  the  center,  the  seat  of  the  subcon- 
scious selfhood.  At  the  gateway  of  the  en- 
trance we  lay  aside  our  load  of  false  beliefs, 
our  load  of  eri'ors  and  prejudices,  our  load  of 
doubts  and  fears.  Waiting  there,  we  ask 
guidance  of  the  soul — "the  perceiver  and  re- 
vealer  of  truth." 

"  Be  still  and  know  "  is  not  a  command ;  it  is 
a  simple  statement  of  truth.  Knowledge  from 
within  cannot  come  to  us  unless  we  are  still ; 
nor  can  it  come  if  we  doubt  or  fear.  To  open 
the  way  that  it  may  come,  with  stillness  we 
must  combine  trust ;  following  that,  as  a  heri- 
tage, will  come  patient,  receptive  listening. 

That  you  may  put  yourself  in  such  an  atti- 
tude, it  is  proper  that  I  here  go  somewhat  into 
detail.     The  ambitious  student  who  recognizes 


Unfoldment.  53 

truth  when  spoken  by  another  is  inclined  to  try 
and  force  demonstrations.  He  loses  power 
by  this,  and  his  progress  is  slower.  So  many 
have  told  of  sitting  alone  and  holding  firmly 
in  thought  a  purpose  as  a  way  to  the  end,  that 
thousands  upon  thousands  have  been  trying  by 
so  doing  to  obtain  demonstration,  without  even 
knowing  what  keeping  still  meant,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  their  wrong  ideas  of  building  and  hold- 
ing mental  images. 

First,  then,  learn  to  sit  and  be  still  physi- 
cally. Select  an  hour  in  the  day  or  evening — a 
full  hour,  and  just  an  hour,  when  you  can  be 
free  from  interruptions,  and  take  that  same 
hour  each  day,  and  no  other.  Sit  with  both 
feet  resting  on  the  floor ;  let  the  chair  be  of  a 
height  to  permit  this.  With  both  feet  resting 
on  the  floor,  a  right  angle  should  be  formed  at 
the  knee.  Next,  be  careful  that  the  spinal 
column  be  kept  erect — there  is  a  fluid  passing 
through  it  to  the  base  of  the  brain,  with  which 
your  thought  has  everything  to  do.  In  a  lying- 
down  posture  this  fluid  presses  against  the  base 
of  the  brain ;  and,  if  concentration  is  attempted 
in  that  position,  it  will  be  found  exceedingly 
difficult  to  sustain  it.  More  than  that,  that 
position  bars  unfoldment.  Knowing  now  the 
position  to  take,  and  the  absolute  requirement 


54  Paths  to  Power. 

(in  the  initial  work  of  cultivating  aoquaint* 
anceship  with  your  soul)  of  coming  to  these 
sittings  the  same  hour  each  day,  you  are  ready 
to  commence  your  work.  For  the  first  few  weeks, 
and  probably  for  a  full  month,  I  advise  you  to 
pay  no  attention  whatever  to  your  thoughts  dur- 
ing these  hour  sittings;  let  them  run  on,  let 
them  run  whither  they  will.  Your  first  disci- 
pline is  physical — this  too  many  have  ignored. 
Within  a  month,  by  such  discipline,  you  can  stop 
in  your  walk  even,  and  find  a  delightful  stillness 
surrounding  you,  and  the  mind  absolutely  free. 
This  physical  rest  and  stillness  is  most  essential 
to  true  progress.  Having  gained  this  stillness 
you  commence  to  command  thought.  Send  it 
on  the  simplest  of  errands  at  first.  Keep  it 
within  your  physical  selfhood.  Center  it  on 
some  portion  of  the  body — say  the  hand — and 
then  try  to  trace  every  sensation  you  feel  in  the 
hand.  Follow  this  by  directing  to  other  parts 
of  the  body.  An  increased  supply  of  blood 
is  sent  to  these  members  by  this  exercise,  and 
atrophied  organs  and  muscles  have  thereby 
been  restored  to  their  normal  condition.  Fol- 
lowing the  study  of  sensation  leads  us,  natu- 
ally  and  logically,  to  that  of  the  study  of 
images.  The  lowest  forms  of  life  feel,  even  the 
amoebas,  and  so  sensations  are  known  to  them. 


Unfoldment.  55 

To  image  requires  intellect ;  in  its  exercise  it 
calls  on  both  memory  and  imagination.  Let 
your  first  imaging  be  of  the  real,  not  of  the 
ideal.  Say  a  city  you  visited  long  ago.  Call 
up  in  memory  all  it  readily  gives  forth ;  and, 
passively  waiting,  enjoy,  as  you  can,  looking  at 
these  mental  pictures.  The  next  day  you  will 
find  the  pictures  more  distinct.  Some  details 
you  had  not  even  noticed  when  you  saw  the 
church,  or  town-house,  or  school-house,  or  mon- 
ument, now  appear.  A  street  you  scarcely  rec- 
ognize comes  to  your  vision  more  or  less  dis- 
tinctly. A  week  or  two  of  these  sittings  pass ; 
and  your  soul,  through  the  subconscious  mind, 
will  have  revealed  all  it  has  to  reveal  on  that 
subject.  Possibly  you  have  not  gained  any  val- 
uable knowledge  ;  but  if  you  have  been  patient 
and  followed  this  course  carefully,  you  have 
opened  communication  with  your  soul.  You 
can  want  nothing  to  which  your  thought, 
rightly  directed,  may  not  help  you.  Follow 
for  some  weeks  the  calling  up  of  images  which 
will  put  memory  to  its  test.  Say  the  school  and 
playmates  of  childhood,  their  youthful  faces, 
their  names,  their  characteristics.  The  soul 
has  forgotten  nothing ;  let  it  prove  this  to  your 
consciousness.  Within  three  months  of  faith- 
ful work,  following  these  simple  lines,  you  will 


56  Paths  to  Power. 

find  yourself  fast  approaching  mastery  of  youi 
own  thinking  self.  That  mastery  opens  the 
portals  to  the  soul,  the  treasure-house. 

The  next  step  in  unf oldment  goes  beyond  the 
individual  or  conscious  self.  You  want  to 
reach  out  mentally  to  others.  Your  discipline 
has  now  prepared  you  for  this.  In  your  firet 
attempts,  select  some  purpose  most  unselfish 
in  itself  and  directly  affecting  the  good  of 
another.  If  you  can  know  when  he  is  asleep, 
select  that  hour  to  treat  or  help  him.  This,  of 
course,  as  to  time,  refers  to  your  beginnings. 
Sit  still;  image  him  where  he  is,  and  you 
near  him ;  speak  your  wisdom  to  his  soul. 
You  will  be  surprised  how  quickly  the  work 
will  be  done.  In  your  practise,  always  preserve 
the  attitude  of  listening,  as  intuition  speaks 
more  frequently  through  the  medium  of  the 
mental  ear  than  through  that  of  mental  sight. 
I  suggest  that  you  begin  your  sittings  with 
your  eyes  open,  but  close  them  as  soon  as  there 
comes  a  sense  of  strain  upon  them. 

The  Hindoos  make  measured  breathing  pre- 
liminary at  almost  every  sitting.  There  is  a 
world  of  discipline  in  their  breathing  exercises, 
and  I  cannot  commend  them  too  heartily.  In- 
hale, counting,  say,  four  ;  hold  the  same ;  count, 
and  exhale,  and  rest  the  same.     Modify  this  exeiy 


Unfoldment.  57 

cise  from  time  to  time.  All  well-directed  breath- 
ing exercises  harmonize  the  system  and  fit  you 
mentally  for  the  more  serious  work.  One  of 
their  exercises,  you  will  find,  at  first,  quite  diffi- 
cult, but  I  feel  I  ought  not  to  pass  without  men- 
tioning it  here.  Inhale  deeply  through  the  left 
nostril,  centering  thought  on  the  nerve  current* 
or  spinal  column,  as  if  you  were  sending  your 
breath  through  it  so  that  it  may  strike  (mentally) 
on  the  last  plexus,  which  they  call  the  seat  of  the 
Kundalina.  Then  hold  for  a  short  time,  and  ex- 
hale slowly  through  the  right  nostril.  This  prac- 
tise is  conducive  to  repose  or  rest.  If  you  have 
tired  nerves,  it  will  calm  them  down  so  that 
such  peacefulness  will  come,  that  you  will  feel 
you  have  never  before  known  what  rest  meant. 
After  you  have  followed  the  method  suggest- 
ed a  few  months,  there  should  be  seasons  of 
rest,  seasons  when  you  cease  to  strive  for  any- 
thing. During  these  it  might  be  well  to  give, 
say  fifteen  minutes  of  the  early  day,  or  the  same 
time  just  before  retiring,  to  a  sitting ;  this  simply 
for  preserving  harmony  of  the  forces,  and  keep- 
ing the  way  to  the  source  open  and  clear. 
When,  from  time  to  time,  you  are  about  to  un- 
dertake some  serious  task  to  which  you  feel 
called,  read  books  that  bear  upon  the  subject, 
and  talk  with  people   who   understand  some* 


58  Paths  to  Power. 

thing  of  it.  Do  not  strain  to  reach  what  does 
not  appear  through  these  avenues,  but  let  the 
main  features  rest  quietly  in  your  mind.  Note 
the  facts  that  you  have,  and  skip  the  specula- 
tion advanced  ;  you  are  seeking  the  truth.  All 
the  speculation,  all  the  theories  of  others  cannot 
help  you.  You  are  reaching  for  a  point  beyond. 
If  you  desire  this  knowledge,  that  desire  proves 
your  soul  has  it  in  her  storehouse,  and  you  now 
know  the  way  to  find  it.  Having  brought  about 
you  consciously  an  atmosphere  that  can  re- 
ceive and  hold  the  vibrations  that  you  are  call- 
ing to  yourself,  you  again  enter  the  silence  and 
receive  from  the  soul  the  revealings  which  it 
is  ready  to  give  to  your  consciousness.  Later 
on,  you  will  come  to  the  more  serious  purposes 
that  dominate  your  life.  Having  learned,  test- 
ed, and  proved,  that  the  "  straight  and  narrow 
way "  leads  to  knowledge,  you  will  enter  it 
with  absolute  faith  and  trust.  You  will  not 
trouble  about  time  and  dates,  for  living  will 
have  begun  to  you  to  be  an  eternal  now.  In 
the  brilliant  radiance  of  the  present,  and  the 
knowing  that  it  always  is,  you  can  have  no 
longing  for  a  future. 

Herein  I  have  presented  you  with  an  outline 
of  work  on  the  details  of  which  I  might  elaborate 
for  the  next  hundred  pages  were  I  attempting 


Unfoldment.  59 

to  take  you  over  the  course  suggested  step  by- 
step.  I  trust,  however  incomplete  this  brief 
paper  may  be,  some,  at  least,  may  grasp  a 
method  that  will  help  them  to  find  the  way 
that  leads  to  purpose  fulfilled.  All  spiritual 
advancement  is  a  growth.  The  unfolding  can 
come  no  faster  than  you  are  ready  for  it ;  with- 
out discipline  it  may  never  come  at  all.  The 
limitless  powers  of  the  soul  are  the  limitless 
powers  of  man.  Possess  your  conscious  self  of 
the  wisdom  of  your  soul,  and  the  book  of  knowl- 
edge will  be  open  before  you.  Then  you  will 
need  no  more  to  go  to  books,  for  infinite  knowl- 
edge will  be  yours.  Even  though  no  mortal 
may  ever  reach  the  pinnacle  of  this  sublime 
height,  every  approach  toward  it  is  upliftment 
to  worthier  deeds  and  nobler  lives.  We  have 
only  the  glimmerings  of  our  own  possibilities. 
History  shines  with  names  here  and  there  that 
tell  us  what  man  has  done.  In  learning  of  the 
powers  of  the  soul,  you  have  learned  of  the 
absolute  unity  of  all  life  and  force,  and  the  secret 
spoken  by  our  wisest  philospher  that  all  have 
**  an  identical  nature." 

"  Qod  is  the  ocean  limitless 

That  doth  all  springs  supply, 
God  is  the  *  I  am  that  I  am,' 
The  self  of  every  I." 
20 


6o  Paths  to  Power. 

Then 

"  In  the  silence,  in  the  silence, 
In  his  love,  so  kind  and  true, 
In  the  living,  throbbing  silence, 
Find  the  work  you  have  to  do." 

After  you  have  over  and  over  again  proved 
the  truth  of  this  philosophy  by  receiving  reveal- 
ings  from  the  soul  of  wisdom  never  gathered  by 
others,  then  hesitate  not  to  assert  your  oneness 
with  creative  force  and  power,  and  sing  with 
Emerson : 

**  I  am  the  owner  of  the  spheres. 
Of  the  seven  stars  and  the  solar  years, 
Of  Caesar's  hand  and  Plato's  brain, 
Of  Lord  Christ's  heart,  and  Shakespeare's  strain/' 


POWER ;  HOW  TO   ATTAIN  IT. 

Were  the  question  asked  the  student,  the 
professional  man,  the  mass  of  struggling  hu- 
manity generally,  what  would  ye,  the  reply  of 
each  and  every  could  be  crystallized  into  the 
single  word.  Power.  The  way  to  the  end  de- 
sired, be  the  end  what  it  may,  is  through  some 
path  whose  goal  or  end  is  what  is  comprised 
within  the  scope  of  that  magic  word.  To 
gain  power,  the  seeker  consults  what  is  called 
the  teachings  of  history,  and  reads  the  conclu- 
sions drawn  from  experience.  The  story  of  a  life, 
a  great  and  noble  life,  is  presented  by  one 
who  has  made  himself  familiar  with  the  events 
of  that  life,  and  there  we  find  the  story  of  pur- 
pose and  accomplishment.  After  all,  what  have 
we  ?  A  compilation  of  facts  that  may  tell  of 
daring  deeds,  of  wonderful  victories,  of  glori- 
ous triumphs  all  done  and  won  by  the  hero. 
These  are  marvelous  things,  we  may  say,  and  he 
has  won  his  title  to  renown.  We  may  become, 
with  other  readers,  a  worshiper  at  that  shrine. 
We  may  speak  his  name  with  veneration,  and 

6i 


62  Paths  to  Power. 

thank  God  for  such  examples  of  God-like  men. 
Then  the  reader  pauses  and  reflectively  wonders 
if  he  may  find,  in  his  time,  some  similar  hero. 
The  story  is  simply  to  such  a  reader  one  of  in- 
terest. The  lesson  to  be  learned  by  the  life  is 
lost.  The  real  lesson  is  not  understood  by 
either  the  biographer  or  the  reader,  and  may 
not  have  even  entered  into  the  consciousness  of 
the  hero  himself. 

When  one  finds  himself  in  doubt  as  to  what 
is  for  his  best  interest  in  a  new  venture,  when 
intellect  presents  no  solution,  when  past  expe- 
riences fail  to  give  any  light,  he  seeks  counsel, 
hoping  thereby  to  bring  about  a  focusing  of 
intellects  to  penetrate  the  mystery  and  reveal 
the  secret.  From  these  counsels  he  usually 
comes  as  wise,  but  no  wiser,  than  when  he  en- 
tered them.  To  act  blindly  he  feels  is  not  good 
judgment,  so  he  returns  to  the  battle  now  more 
than  before  filled  with  confusion  and  doubt 
What  he  needs  is  foresight,  he  says,  meaning  by 
that  knowledge  of  the  undetermined,  while  the 
conclusions  of  judgment  are  drawn  only  from 
experience.  In  our  ignorance,  we  have  defied 
intellect,  through  which  the  reasoning  faculties 
were  developed.  This  has  been  made  to 
represent  the  dividing  line  between  the  brute 
creation  and  man.     It  characterized  the  highest 


Power  ;  How  to  Attain  It.         63 

animal  plane.  It  represented  a  force  capable 
of  limitless  culture  and  expansion.  It  was  the 
human  element  to  be  trained  and  disciplined  by 
the  schools.  By  tlie  machine  drill,  it  was  to  be 
made  useful  to  direct  in  all  the  affairs  and 
businesses  of  life.  Blindly  we  are  still  going  on 
in  the  same  way,  mingling  doubts  and  fears,  and 
hopes  and  longings.  Force  is  scattered.  Pos- 
sibly the  seeker  turns  to  prayer;  but  even 
then  the  church  dogma  advises  his  way  may 
not  be  God's  way,  and  that  he  must  learn  to  be 
content  with  what  may  come.  The  ecclesiastic 
advises  that  there  may  be  a  wise  purpose  in  the 
withholding,  for  this  is  the  logic  of  the  theologian. 
He  does  not  enter  into  the  warm  high  hopes  of 
the  seeker  who  is  working  toward,  it  may  be,  his 
noblest  ideal.  That  ideal  came  to  him  he  be- 
lieved from  God,  that  God  make  it  radiant  and 
holy,  and  now  that  God,  after  such  an  awaken- 
ing in  his  soul,  prevents,  the  ecclesiastic  may 
tell  him,  the  realization.  He,  the  seeker,  can 
have  no  further  use  for  such  a  God.  His  in- 
tellect again  speaks,  and  apparently  more  wisely  ; 
he  turns  back  to  it,  declaring  he  has  no  longer 
time  for  dreams.  A  point  has  been  reached,  a 
point  passed ;  only  error  has  been  won.  Effort 
finds  a  new  path  which  reason  approves,  and 
work  again  begins  ,*  but  doubt  and  questionings 


64  Paths  to  Power. 

fill  the  path  with  obstacles.  The  orator,  the 
poet,  the  clergyman  have  shouted,  "  Life  is  a  bat* 
tie,*'  till  the  ethers  absorbed  the  thought,  and  man 
breathes  an  atmosphere  miasmic  with  doubt, 
uncertainty  and  strife.  This  atmosphere  has  a 
peculiar  density  and  holds  thought  enslaved. 
Thought  is  largely  a  product  of  environment, 
a  reflection  of  the  mental  atmosphere  around 
us.  Thought  is  free,  and  all  have  absolute  free- 
dom in  its  realm.  Why  not  use  that  freedom? 
Why  not  use  that  freedon  wisely  ?  Who  shall 
fetter  your  thought  or  mine  ?  Alone  and  still,  it 
breaks  forth  at  times  with  words  of  prophecy. 
Whence  came  the  message  ?  Beyond  the  reacli, 
we  know,  of  the  logic  of  intellect.  Then 
whence  its  source  ?  Cold  logic  could  not  give 
it  birth,  and  experience  remembers  no  parallel. 
In  physical  science,  advance  has  only  been 
made  by  a  series  of  experiments.  Many  of 
these  experiments  have  been  called  accidental 
ones,  for  on  them,  at  first,  no  theories  were 
based.  Truths  were  revealed  by  them  and  the 
law  of  cause  and  effect  were  later  followed  out 
by  analysis.  Mysteries  were  unraveled  that  no 
known  law  of  synthesis  could  have  uncovered. 
In  the  study  of  the  mind  we  are  dealing  with 
something  more  subtle  than  matter.  Far  with- 
in, there  is  an  unfathomed  depth  no  logiciam 


Power ;  How  to  Attain  It.         65 

dare  claim  to  have  reached.  From  that  depth 
spring  to  conscious  self  the  undiscovered  truths. 
To  know  the  intuitional  is  to  know  truth.  This 
is  a  strong  statement ;  can  it  be  verified  to  the 
logic  of  intellect  ? 

To  clearly  illustrate  the  position  taken,  the 
soul  is  the  spiritual  ego,  rich  in  past  experiences 
and  full  of  desire  to  communicate  with  the 
commonplace  ego  which  has  steeped  itself  in 
the  intellectual  dogma  called  knowledge,  and 
thereby  lost  sight  of  its  divine  fatherhood. 
Through  the  spiritual  ego  vibrate  the  harmonies 
of  the  divine,  unfailing  directors  of  the  real 
selfhood.  It  speaks  in  dreams  and  noble  desires. 
Each  sublime  desire  from  it  is  simply  a  telepathic 
communication  from  God,  advising  one  what 
may  be  his.  Through  it  is  the  only  method  of 
communication  with  the  Infinite.  To  recognize 
and  follow  its  mandate  is  to  listen  to  the  voice 
and  to  obey  the  command  of  God. 

Franklin  heard  the  summons  and  sent  the 
kite  with  its  metal  tip  to  meet  the  powerful, 
unerring  messenger  that  passes  from  cloud  to 
cloud  on  its  pathway  of  dazzling  light.  Till 
then,  the  thunder  was  only  recognized  by  the 
ecclesiastics  as  God's  voice  from  the  heavens, 
and  the  lighting  as  his  uncontrollable  bolts  of 
destruction.  To  investigate  more  would  be  to 
5 


66  Paths  to  Power. 

offend  God,  said  these  theologians.  They  had 
the  church  dogma  in  their  hands  to  prove  the 
wisdom  of  their  logic.  Franklin  only  claimed 
that  he  had  an  idea,  and  that  his  experiment 
was  to  test  if  that  idea  were  true.  Where  did 
the  idea  come  from  ?  He  could  not  have  gleaned 
it  from  books,  for  the  wise  men  of  the  day  then, 
as  now,  spoke  from  the  record.  For  authority, 
they,  like  the  scribes  of  old,  quoted  from  the  ac- 
cepted philosophy  of  the  age  in  which  they  lived. 
In  a  moment  of  stillness  was  that  idea  fixed  on  his 
consciousness  so  that  he  could  not  drop  it  even 
if  he  would.  From  the  infinite  source  of  light 
was  revealed  to  him  a  truth,  and  he  made  the 
instrument  to  demonstrate  it  to  the  world. 

From  the  unknown  came  the  message  to  Joan 
of  Arc;  and,  with  it,  the  irresistible  force  to 
compel  action.  History  furnished  no  parallel  to 
such  a  leadership;  but  inspired  truth,  finding 
complete  acceptance  in  a  single  soul,  will  always 
carry  conviction  to  the  multitude.  The  purpose 
accomplished,  the  bigotry  and  superstition  of 
the  age  turned  its  erring,  cold  logic  on  the 
lesson,  and  all  its  wonderful  meaning  was  lost. 

Since  man  has  kept  a  record  of  events,  the 
pages  of  history  and  biography  have  been 
crowded  with  the  marvelous.  Sometimes  we 
have    called    it  coincidence,  sometimes  luck, 


Power  ;  How  to  Attain  It.         67 

sometimes  providence,  sometimes  fate.  To-day 
the  philosophy  of  the  opening  years  of  the 
twentieth  century  says  there  are  no  accidents ; 
law  is  universal.  Telepathic  communication 
from  mind  to  mind  of  the  living  is  accepted 
generally.  Drifts  of  thought  through  the  atmos- 
phere, changing  purpose,  carrying  conviction, 
bringing  harmony,  creating  doubt,  and  so  on,  is 
fast  growing  into  general  acceptance.  Many  go 
further,  and  claim  to  receive  spirit  messages 
from  those  who  have  passed  out  of  this  plane  of 
existence,  and  their  proofs  are  so  startling  that  the 
skeptics  of  the  London  Society  of  Psychical 
Research  declare,  in  substance,  that  they  find  no 
other  explanation  of  the  phenomena.  Others, 
still  more  advanced,  accept  substantially  all  this 
as  true  and  claim  that  the  soul  can  speak  directly 
with  the  Infinite.  They  claim  to  know  of  the 
receipt  of  such  communications,  and  to  live  up- 
on the  light  and  help  they  bring.  There  were 
prophets  in  the  past,  why  not  in  the  present  ? 
Why  should  God  have  been  willing  to  communi- 
cate with  Moses,  with  Abraham,  w4th  Solomon, 
with  Paul,  with  Socrates,  with  Shakespeare, 
with  Franklin,  and  not  with  you  and  me  ? 
May  it  not  be  our  fault  ?  What  wonderful  tele- 
pathic communications  are  recorded  ?  How  can 
mind  speak  to  mind  unless  there  be  a  complete 


68  Paths  to  Power. 

unity  of  all  life  through,  spirit  which  is  itself  the 
light  of  the  soul  ?  Spirit  pervades  all  space,  il- 
luminates all  souls,  animates  all  life,  is  eternal 
and  changeless.  Souls  may  and  do  grow  in 
knowledge  by  unfoldment,  which  knowledge  can 
only  be  possessed  through  the  illumination  of 
Spirit.  How  may  one  invoke  and  possess  himself 
of  this  aid  ?  Evidently  he  must  first  make  ac- 
quaintance with  his  own  soul.  If  he  can  com- 
municate with  it,  he  may  hope  to  communicate 
with  other  souls  distant  from  him  ;  and  he  has 
then  taken  the  first  step  upward  in  the  line  of  spir- 
itual progress  leading  to  truth.  The  first  step  is 
to  break  from  the  dogma  of  fear.  Philosophers 
and  poets  alike  have  had  too  much  to  say  of  fear, 
and  too  much  to  say  of  man's  weakness  and  God's 
greatness.  Our  line  of  thought  will,  if  rightl}^ 
followed,  lead  us  to  know  the  unity  of  man  and 
God.  Recognizing  that,  we  will  know  the  truth 
of  "  Seek  and  ye  shall  find."  **  Ask  and  it  shall 
be  given  unto  you."  Step  by  step  let  us  try 
ourselves.  First,  our  way  starts  with  a  recogni- 
tion of  the  demonstrated  facts  of  telepathic 
communication.  Next  to  telepathic  communica- 
tion comes  up  for  consideration  drift  thoughts 
meeting  ours  and  thereby  affecting  us  in  divers 
ways.  These  are  easily  recognized  by  a  sensitive, 
a  Yogi,  or  even  by  a  student  who  has  made  but 


Power  ;  How  to  Attain  It.         69 

little  progress  in  the  metaphysical  teachings  of 
the  day.  Often  you  have  been  engaged  in  earnest 
conversation  with  a  friend,  when,  without  any 
apparent  cause,  you  have  become  abstracted 
and  then  turned  to  him  asking  the  theme  which 
a  moment  before  you  had  been  discussing.  The 
cause  of  that  abstraction  was  a  drift-thought 
from  the  ethers — sometimes  it  may  come  with 
such  force  as  to  break  off  the  conversation 
from  the  subject  under  discussion  and  bear  you 
away  with  it  on  a  new  one — you  apologizing  to 
your  friend  for  the  break  with — "  It  has  just  oc- 
curred to  me  " — or  some  such  phrase.  These 
drift-thoughts  scatter  force  if  allowed  to  seize 
hold  of  one.  They  prevent  concentration  and 
are  the  enemies  or  devils  to  be  overcome  by  the 
student  calling  for  power.  They  must  never 
be  mistaken  for  the  intuitional  messages  of 
truth. 

As  to  messages  from  those  who  have  joined 
the  great  majority  to  those  here,  the  London 
Society  of  Psychical  Research,  to  which  I  have 
referred,  says  the  message  and  even  the  form 
comes.  If  not  from  souls  once  known  here, 
then  whence  the  message  beaming  with  their 
self-same  intelligences?  If  one  has  never  in- 
vestigated this  subject,  it  may  be  best  not  to 
assume  knowledge  which  he  does  not  possess. 


70  Paths  to  Power. 

Prejudice  is  one  thing,  ignorance  is  another. 
Remember  that  one  of  our  most  famous  Ger- 
man philosophers  has  said :  "  The  man  who 
any  longer  denies  clairvoyance  does  not  show 
that  he  is  prejudiced  ;  he  only  shows  that  he  is 
ignorant."  Read  Rev.  Dr.  Minot  J.  Savage's 
"  Psychics,  Facts  and  Theories,"  and  "  Miracles 
and  Modern  Spiritualism"  by  Alfred  Russel 
Wallace,  D.  C.  L.,  LL.D.,  then  start  in  yourself 
and  investigate.  In  the  science  of  "  Raja  Yoga  " 
of  the  Hindoos,  which  means  *'  the  conquering 
the  internal  nature,"  it  is  claimed  that  the 
sum  total  of  all  the  force  in  the  universe,  men- 
tal or  physical,  when  resolved  back  to  its 
original  state,  is  called  Prana.  The  knowledge 
and  control  of  this  Prana  is  the  one  aim  of  the 
Yogis,  and  is  called  Pranayama.  Spiritualism, 
they  say,  is  but  a  manifestation  of  Pranayama, 
and  add  "  It  is  quite  probable  that  there  may 
be  hundreds  and  millions  living  here  that  we 
can  neither  see,  feel  nor  touch.  We  may  be 
continually  passing  and  repassing  through  their 
bodies,  and  it  is  probable  that  they  do  not  see 
or  feel  us.  It  is  a  circle  within  a  circle,  uni- 
verse within  universe.  Those  only  that  are  on 
the  same  plane  see  each  other." 

As  we  move  forward  in  our  psychic  studies, 
we  are  simply  grasping   the  meaning  of  tho 


Power  ;  How  to  Attain  It.        71 

word  soul.  Within  us  it  is,  outward  it  reaches 
till  lost  in  the  Infinite.  We  best  be  slow  about 
accepting  messages  that  seemingly  come  as 
from  the  infinite  impersonal  force  of  the  uni- 
verse ;  yet  they,  even  they,  may  come.  When 
one  readily  calls  these  vibrations,  he  has  learned 
the  whole  secret.  Emerson  puts  it:  "  We 
know  that  all  spiritual  being  is  in  man.  A 
wise  old  proverb  says,  '  God  comes  to  us  with- 
out bell ' — that  is,  there  is  no  screen  or  ceiling 
between  our  heads  and  the  infinite  heavens." 
In  the  "Over-soul,"  Emerson  again  speaks  in- 
spired truth  in  "  Ineffable  is  the  union  of  man 
and  God  in  every  act  of  the  soul.  The  simplest 
person  who,  in  his  integrity,  worships  God,  be- 
comes God."  To  reach  the  state  here  indicated 
by  Emerson  would  be  to  pass  bej'ond  the  intel- 
lectual and  the  reasoning  plane.  This  higher 
plane  is  called  the  super-conscious;  Yogis  of 
India  have  been  known  to  reach  it.  May  there 
not  yet  be  Yogis  found  here  amid  the  rush  and 
hurry  and  danger  of  western  civilization  ? 

The  purpose  of  this  paper,  however,  is  not 
the  attainment  of  the  ultimate  ;  it  is  the  de- 
veloping of  power  in  this  or  that  direction. 
Along  my  line  of  reasoning,  we  have  seen  that 
thought  can  travel  without  the  aid  of  wires  of 
iron,  or  steel,  or  copper.     It  can  travel  through 


72  Paths  to  Power. 

the  ethers  on  lines  that  can  never  be  drawn. 
It  seemingly  comes  from  souls  no  longer  held 
in  earthly  environment.  Sometimes  it  comes 
to  us  through  conscious  action,  often  through 
subconscious.  Nothing  happens  ;  there  are  no 
accidents.  Then,  there  must  be  a  law  governing 
all  these  wonderful  phenomena.  Only  by  ac- 
cepting the  unity  of  life  can  the  law  be  dis- 
cerned. If  God  is  spirit  and  spirit  is  all,  we, 
our  divine  selves,  must  be  one  with  this  great 
ligh't  and  force  which  illuminates  and  controls 
all.  Being  one  with  It,  we  Can  speak  with  It 
and  act  with  It.  Though  we  may  never  fully 
comprehend  the  central  essence  from  which  all 
harmonies  flow,  still  from  It  we  may  appropriate 
all  we  would  to  fill  our  lives  with  joy  and 
peace  and  plenty  and  love. 

Relieve  God  of  the  personality  with  which 
the  theologian  has  clothed  Him,  and  then  the 
vague,  meaningless  statements  of  the  same  theo- 
logian become  radiant  and  we  catch  glimpses  of 
the  great  impersonal  Energy  as  we  say,  God  is 
spirit,  God  is  love,  God  is  light,  God  is  truth, 
God  is  force,  God  is  law,  God  is  justice.  Laotsze, 
the  accredited  founder  of  Taoism,  twenty-five 
hundred  years  ago  wrote  of  the  Chinese  god, 
Tao :  "  Tao,  considered  as  an  entity,  is  obscure 
and  vague,  yet  within  It  there  is  form.     Ob* 


Power  ;  How  to  Attain  It.         73 

gcure  and  vague,  yet  within  It  there  is  sub- 
stance. Tao  is  ultimate  thought  and  dwells  in 
silence  ;  hence  Being  cannot  be  defined.  It  is 
what  It  is.     It  can,  however,  be  appropriated." 

To  appropriate  God,  it  is  first  to  know  and 
believe  in  God.  Considered  as  a  great  imper- 
sonality, you  can  reach  out  to  that  force  sur- 
rounding you,  knowing  your  real  self  to  be  of 
It,  one  with  It,  and  then  you  only  appropriate 
what  is  your  own.  '*  Acquaint  thyself  with 
God,"  is  but  another  way  of  saying  Bion's  favor- 
ite maxim  :  "  Know  thyself."  To  know  one's 
self  is  to  recognize  one's  divinity — to  become 
acquainted  with  one's  own  soul.  That  is  the 
highest,  the  truest  religion.  This  word  religion 
is  made  up  of  two  Latin  words, "  re  "  and  *'  ligio," 
to  bind  back;  and,  therefore,  true  religion 
means  to  bind  the  soul  (the  immortal  ego)  back 
to  its  spirit  fatherhood.  They  only  are  truly 
religious,  who  have  learned  of  the  fatherhood, 
of  the  unity  of  life,  of  the  omnipresence  of 
spirit. 

Subconsciously  many  have  been  so  illumi. 
nated  by  their  own  divine  selfhood  that  their 
intuitions  have  risen  superior  to  logic  as  direct- 
ing force  in  their  business  and  in  all  their 
professional  affair?.  They  followed  the  highest, 
truest,  noblest  leadership ;   in  fact,  that  leader- 


74  Paths  to  Power. 

ship  was  so  formidable  that"  they  were  com- 
pelled to  follow  it.  They,  in  so  doing,  were 
always  successful.  Genius  follows  such  guid- 
ance ;  and,  when  praises  are  won,  feels  itself 
unworthy  the  honors  received.  So,  during  the 
ages,  man  has  worked  and  failed,  worked  and 
succeeded,  blindly.  Why  ?  With  wrong  ideas 
concerning  God,  he  lost  sight  of,  or  did  not 
recognize,  his  own  divine  selfhood. 

Jesus  taught  the  truth,  but  its  simplicity  and 
real  meaning  was  lost  in  the  puzzling  logic  of 
the  theologian.  He  taught  the  unity  of  all  in 
"  I  and  the  father  are  one."  **  Not  1  "  (the 
personal  or  mortal  I),  "  but  the  father  within 
me,"  and  *'  Greater  works  than  these  shall  ye 
do."  Shakespeare  tells  of  the  bank  or  force 
from  which  he  drew  when  writing.  In  the 
epilogue  to  the  Tempest  we  have  the  last  lines 
Shakespeare  ever  wrote  for  the  public,  after 
taking  leave  of  the  spirit  force  which  had  guided 
his  pen  so  many  years : 

"  Now  my  charms  are  all  o'erthrown, 
And  what  strength  I  have's  mine  own, 
Which  is  most  faint." 

Like  Emerson,  Shakespeare  recognized  the 
soul  force  within,  illuminated  by  spirit.  It 
spoke  beyond  the  range  of  his  mortal,  intellec- 
tual self,  and  his  consciousness  of  it  must  often 


Power  ;  How  to  Attain  It.        75 

have  provoked  him  to  say  in  hearing  his 
own  praises  sung :  '*  Not  unto  me,  not  unto 
me.'' 

Men  of  destiny  everywhere  have  asked,  "  Why 
to  us?"  Mozart  astounded  the  musical  com- 
posers of  Europe  at  five,  and  genius  has  always 
been  a  wall  impregnable  to  the  logic  of  in- 
tellect. 

The  way  to  power,  therefore,  is  through 
acquaintance  with  one's  own  soul.  The  seeker 
gains  an  entrance  to  its  portals  by  recognizing  the 
unity  of  life.  He  then  sees  spirit  illuminating 
and  governing  all  life.  This  is  no  new  theory 
of  God.  They  who  have  written  and  spoken 
from  the  center  (w^hich  I  call  the  intuitional, 
though  this  is  of  it  simply,  as  the  center  can 
never  be  reduced  to  possession)  are  only  under- 
stood w^hen  the  divine  (subjective),  not  the  in- 
tellectual self,  listens.  The  truth  of  inspira- 
tion may  reveal  itself  to  the  simplest,  while  the 
theologian  is  vainly  trying  to  bring  it  to  light 
through  his  dogmas.  All  have  the  right  to 
interpret  the  intuitional.  If  one  single  thought 
expressed  by  Jesus  is  revealed  to  your  self- 
hood as  "  If  thine  eye  be  single,  thy  whole  body 
shall  be  full  of  light,"  then  trust  that  revelation 
and  never  look  up  w^hat  the  commentators  may 
say  about  it. 


76  Paths  to  Power. 

Go  in  the  silence  and  say  I  will  know  the 
truth.  I  have  the  right  to  know  it.  Within,  I 
have  heard,  at  times,  the  voice  of  prophecy ;  I 
will  acquaint  myself  with  the  source  of  wisdom. 
You  need  say  no  more  than  this,  and  your 
thought  may  shape  the  language  other ;  still, 
with  some  words  expressing  like  resolves,  hold 
yourself  passive  and  wait  the  coming  of  the 
message.  Thus  you  attract  to  you  what  you 
desire.  Your  peaceful  faith  will  hasten  the 
coming  of  the  blessing;  that  opens  the  way, 
because  it  makes  your  atmosphere  true. 

All  power  is  of  Spirit,  of  God.  You  are  one 
with  God.  Every  noble  purpose  within  you 
is  born  of  God  ;  and  the  dream  of  advance- 
ment is  God's  picture  and  promise  of  what  may 
be  yours.  Know  this,  and  in  the  silence  hold  as 
yours  already.  It  is  yours  long  before  full 
manifestation  to  your  outward  self.  Its  invisi- 
ble substance  must  be  possessed  by  your  subcon- 
scious mind  first ;  and,  through  firmly  holding 
it  up  consciously  to  the  light  of  spirit,  it  takes 
form  and  is  revealed  to  the  senses.  Such  action 
is  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  teachings  of 
Jesus,  '*  Whatsoever  ye  desire  when  ye  pray, 
believe  that  ye  receive  and  ye  have  already." 
Jesus  never  taught  men  to  be  beggars  to  an  un- 
willing or  an  unknown  God.     Believe  in  your- 


Power  ;  How  to  Attain  It.        77 

selves,  believe  in  your  own  divinity.  Deny 
man's  weakness,  but  remember  there  is  no 
growth  or  uplifting  in  denials.  Assert  the  truth 
—the  fulfilment  of  noble  desire.  Bring  your- 
self to  full  realization  that  these  statements 
spring  (as  they  do)  from  your  divine  selfhood. 
In  absolute  faith  you  hold  up  the  bright  pictures 
of  noble  desire  and  resolve  ;  that  is  your  woik. 
Spirit,  one  with  your  divine  selfhood,  will  illu- 
minate and  give  visible  form  and  expression  to 
them  (if  you  hold  them  firm  and  true)  for  that  is 
Spirit's  work.  Do  your  part  faithfully,  that  is 
all  there  is  for  you  (your  conscious  self)  to  do. 
Thus  is  all  true  power  born.  Within  you,  it 
lies  dormant;  till,  by  conscious  action,  it  is 
brought  to  light.  To  work  intelligently  is  to 
work  consciously.  As  you  so  work,  flashes  of 
light,  bringing  to  your  consciousness  knowledge, 
will  shine  forth  again  and  again.  You  will 
repeat  in  full  realization  the  inspired  lines  from 
Edgar  Allan  Poe, "  All  power  is  of  God — of  God 
alone."  And  yet,  that  God  is  within  your  reach. 
That  God  is  no  monarch  sitting  on  a  throne  in  a 
material  heaven.  He  is  around  you.  He  is 
here.  He  is  everywhere.  Your  most  cherished 
wish  cannot  be  dearer  to  you  than  to  Him.  He, 
Himself,  recognizing  your  gifts,  whispered  to 
your  consciousness  that  wish.     By  telling  you 


78  Paths  to  Power. 

of  it,  He  simply  disclosed  a  treasure  that  waa 
yours.  You  have  a  task  to  do  to  take  possession 
of  the  treasure.  Do  not  pale  at  this  task  to  be 
performed,  however,  because  all  '^Its  ways  are 
ways  of  pleasantness,  and  all  its  paths  are  peace." 
Your  daring  and  your  bravery  are  delight  to 
spirit.     Trust  it. 

'*  Forward  in  the  strength  of  manhood  I 
Forward  in  its  fire  of  youth  ! 
Aim  at  something  ;  ne'er  surrender, 
Arm  thee  in  the  mail  of  truth. 

"  Forward,  then  !  bright  eyes  are  beaming, 
Fight,  nor  lose  the  conqueror's  crown. 
Stretch  thy  right  hand,  seize  thy  birthrights 
Take  it,  wear  it,  'tis  thine  own  ! 

*'  Slay  the  giants  which  beset  thee. 
Rise  to  manhood,  glory,  fame. 
Take  thy  pen,  and  in  the  volume 
Of  the  gifted,  write  thy  ntime.'* 


HARMONY. 

It  will  be  conceded  by  all  students  in  met* 
aphysics  of  tlie  present  age,  that  the  spiritual 
ego  is  one  with  Omnipotent  force,  and  when 
attuned  to  harmonious  vibrations  with  the  Infi- 
nite, possesses  all  the  power  over  its  own  phy- 
sical environment  and  its  surroundings  that  has 
been  attributed  by  the  theologian  to  God. 
Allowing  this  to  be  a  correct  statement  of 
truth,  the  chief  end  of  man  is  to  consciously 
possess  the  power  to  bring  himself  into  these 
harmonious  vibrations.  This  done,  he  has 
solved  the  problem  of  living. 

The  purpose,  the  aim,  of  the  student  in 
advanced  philosophy  to-day,  therefore,  is  not 
to  learn  a  new  philosophy,  but  to  make  practi- 
cal the  one  he  knows  to  be  true.  Students  are 
everywhere  discussing  theories  of  vibrations 
and  the  laws  which  govern  them — in  short, 
they  are  experimenting.  Are  they  experiment- 
ing on  right  lines  ?  Vibrations  pass  through 
atmosphere,  and  can  only  reach  the  intelligence 
of  him  whose  atmosphere  will  permit.  The 
wires  are  already  laid.     You  may  connect  your 

79 


8o  Paths  to  Power. 

house  and  office  with  a  wire  and  not  be  able 
to  speak  across  it ;  you  must  have  at  each  end 
a  properly  adjusted  transmitter  and  receiver, 
that  you  may  give  and  receive  messages  across 
the  line. 

Primarily,  we  start  with  the  assumption  that 
all  life  is  one,  that  all  intelligence  is  bound 
together  by  subtle  unseen  chords  on  which 
thought  can  travel,  and  on  which  thought  does 
travel,  whether  we  will  or  not.  It  is  not  my 
purpose  here  to  offer  any  argument  to  prove 
the  truth  of  this  philosophy,  which  is  so  old  and 
so  new.  Laotze,  who  wrote  of  Tao,  the  Chinese 
God,  twenty-five  hundred  years  ago,  recognized 
it,  and  declared  that  though  Tao  could  not  be 
defined,  he  could  be  appropriated.  All  great 
thinkers,  even  before  Laotze,  and  since  then, 
have  agreed  as  to  the  oneness  of  life.  All 
advanced  thinkers  of  the  present  day  start  with 
the  acceptance  of  the  unity  of  life,  and  demon- 
stration has,  in  a  thousand  ways,  proved  the 
truth  of  this  mighty  unity.  Accepting  this,  then, 
as  true,  we,  as  individuals,  are  desirous  of  com- 
ing into  harmony  with  the  supreme  force  of  the 
universe.  All  readily  acknowledge  that  we 
must  get  into  harmony  with  the  infinite  vibra- 
tions, to  attain  the  power  or  force  we  would 
grasp. 


Harmony.  8i 

I  hold  that  the  connections  with  the  harmoni- 
ous vibrations  desired  are  made  by  establishing 
the  proper  atmosphere  around  us.  Then,  with 
atmosphere  correct,  we  only  need  to  know  how 
to  sit  to  attract  to  us  the  vibrations  that  will 
bring  from  infinite  force  the  fulfilment  of  every 
noble  desire  and  purpose  of  the  mind. 

It  has  often  seemed  to  me  tliat  errors  have 
been  made  by  the  seeker  trying  to  establish 
connection  by  not  recognizing  that  the  con- 
necting link  was  his  own  atmosphere.  Until 
that  is  understood  and  the  connection  made, 
vibrations  from  the  source  are  impossible  ;  after 
that,  vibrations  from  the  source  must  come,  if 
only  the  seeker  passively  waits.  Let  the  stu- 
dent remember  alwaj^s  that  all  the  wires  are  up 
and  strung ;  all  life  is  bound  together  by  inde- 
structible chords.  He  is  not  asked  to  establish 
new  lines ;  they  were  all  strung  ages  and  ages 
ago,  and  they  are  as  universal  and  eternal  as 
life.  But,  though  these  wires  are  strung,  and 
though  these  wires  bind  together  all  the  thought 
world  of  the  universe,  he  only  may  speak  over 
them  who  can  establish  the  connections.  The 
illustration  cited  at  my  very  commencement 
will  explain  this.  You  cannot  talk  from  your 
house  to  your  office  over  a  wire  that  passes 
between  them,  without  the  proper  instruments 
6 


82  Paths  to  Power. 

are  placed  at  either  end.  Your  atmosphere 
constitutes  both  the  receiver  and  the  transmitter 
on  mental  lines,  and  must  be  perfectly  adjusted 
and  toned  in  order  to  receive  the  vibrations,  or 
they  can  never  reach  your  consciousness. 

Just  here  it  is  proper  to  state  that  among  the 
thousands  who  have  sought  for  light  and  found 
it,  and  the  thousands  who  have  sought  for  light 
and  not  found  it,  there  has  been  much  hap- 
hazard work.  Why  one  found  the  light  and 
another  failed  to  find  it  has  not  been  satisfac- 
torily explained.  The  reason  of  this,  it  appears 
to  me,  is  because  some  have  stumbled  on  psychic 
laws  and  won ;  while  others  have  failed,  simply 
because  they  did  not  stumble  the  right  way.  We 
now  live  in  an  age  that  demands  intelligent  dem- 
onstmtion  of  theories  tested  and  proven  to  aid 
one  in  the  attainment  of  desire.  If  there  be 
laws  which,  followed,  give  man  all  the  force  he 
desires,  he  not  only  wants  to  know  these  laws, 
but  also  how  to  make  them  practical  in  his  life. 
The  philosophy  resting  on  these  laws  has  long 
claimed  to  show  the  way;  now  let  us  see  if  we 
can  learn  how  to  adapt  it  to  our  needs. 

I  have  here  in  my  introduction,  in  a  concise 
way,  set  forth  the  primary  tenets  of  the  ad- 
vanced philosophy  which  I  believe  the  majority 
of  my  readers  are  familiar  with,  and  generally 


Harmony.  83 

accept.  I  have  also  clearly  set  forth  that  under 
that  philosophy,  power  from  the  infinite  force 
of  the  universe  comes  through  vibrations  on 
lines  that  have  always  existed  and  that  could 
never  be  broken  down.  To  establish  the  con- 
nection, however,  it  is  necessary  to  know  how 
to  connect  our  entities  with  the  infinite  Mind, 
so  as  to  send  and  receive  the  messages  we  de- 
sire. I  have  boldly  stated  also  to  you  that  the 
instrument  through  which  we  must  speak  and 
call,  and  through  which  we  must  hear  and  under- 
stand, is  the  individual  atmosphere  each  estab- 
lishes about  himself.  In  other  papers  I  have 
had  much  to  say  of  atmosphere  and  have  clearly 
demonstrated,  I  believe,  that  the  individual  con- 
trols absolutely  his  own  atmosphere.  If  you 
are  a  slave  to  the  vague  philosophy  of  heredity, 
environment,  or  the  stars,  this  claim  of  one's 
absolutely  controlling  his  own  atmosphere  may 
not  be  accepted  by  you  at  this  time.  However, 
I  cannot  enter  into  an  argument  to  prove  the 
statement  I  make  as  to  atmosphere  correct,  for 
that  proposition  has  already  received  full  con- 
sideration. I  will  therefore  premise  that  you  do 
accept  that  as  true,  fori  cannot  understand  how 
you  can  advance  mentally  to-day  unless  you 
have  not  only  accepted  it,  but  proven  its  truth. 
My  position,  then,  is  clearly  laid  before  you, 


84  Paths  to  Power. 

together  with  the  facts  I  have  assumed  as  agreed 
upon,  before  starting  forward  in  our  search 
for  the  ways  to  the  ends  to  be  gained,  and 
to  the  victories  to  be  won.  In  all  demonstra* 
tions  there  must  be  some  agreement  and  as* 
sumption  as  to  facts, — even  in  geometry,  we  do 
not  attempt  to  demonstrate  that  "A  straight 
line  is  the  shortest  distance  between  two  points," 
or  that  '*  A  curved  line  is  changing  its  direction 
at  every  point."  These  are  axioms  ;  and,  there- 
fore, you  will  consider  any  statement  I  have 
made  as  to  the  oneness  of  life,  as  to  the  subtle 
chords  that  bind  together  all  life,  and  as  to  in- 
dividual atmosphere  being  within  the  control 
of  each,  the  axioms  on  which  the  demonstra- 
tions herein  attempted  are  based. 

One  of  the  best  ways  of  illustration  is  to  seek 
familiar  examples  in  history  or  biography  and 
learn  the  real  lesson  they  teach. 

Were  we  to  turn  the  pages  of  history  back 
until  we  reached  the  latter  part  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  we  would  find  there  an  atmosphere 
that  was  general  throughout  Europe,  particu- 
larly the  southern  portion,  exciting  individual 
minds  to  independence  and  to  a  breaking  away 
from  the  theological  environment,  whose  walls 
of  prejudice  had  so  confined  thinking  men,  that 
within  its  cloisters  alone  the  stamp  of  authority 


Harmony.  85 

had  to  be  affixed  to  give  statements  of  philosophy 
or  science  any  value  in  the  world.  There  had 
been  a  gradual  mental  growth,  no  doubt,  during 
all  the  thousand  years  of  medieval  darkness ; 
but,  at  that  particular  period,  there  came  a  bold 
awakening.  Within  that  atmosphere  of  inde- 
pendent thinking  there  was  an  uprising  of  the 
spirit  of  daring  adventure,  the  spirit  of  re- 
search, the  spirit  of  exaltation  in  the  discovery 
of  some  of  the  mental  possibilities  latent  within 
the  individual.  Long  before,  Chaucer  in  Eng- 
land and  Dante  in  Italy  had  attained  bold 
heights  in  fancy's  realm  of  poetry ;  but  then 
Galileo  and  Kepler  read  the  story  of  truth 
sung  in  the  mj^sterious  rhj-thmic  movement  of 
the  glittering  stars.  Columbus,  with  clairvoy- 
ant vision,  saw  worlds  unknown ;  and  nations 
dreamed  of  conquests  beyond  the  seas,  and 
limitless  extensions  of  territory.  Ignorant  mar- 
iners dared  to  sail  in  ships,  directed  in  their 
course  to  cross  the  rim  that  would  drop  them, 
as  many  feared,  into  an  unfathomed  abyss  of 
space.  Kings  gave  audiences  to  thinking  men, 
in  spite  of  the  warnings  of  the  ecclesiastics.  In 
short,  the  atmosphere  of  mental  outreaching 
was  so  powerful  and  so  generally  diffused  that 
the  masses  then  living  found  their  own  in- 
dividual  atmospheres    harmonizing    with   the 


86  Paths  to  Power. 

thought  current  which  swept  the  earth  at  that 
period  of  history.  Some  of  the  ecclesiastics 
even  asked  themselves  the  question,  if  the 
theories  of  Columbus,  Galileo  and  Kepler 
were  not  true.  These,  however,  were  men  of  a 
liberal  turn  of  mind,  and  men  who  came  in  con- 
tact with  thinking  people.  The  great  majority 
of  the  ecclesiastics,  however,  had,  through  the 
teachings  of  the  church  and  through  their  en- 
thusiasm to  be  renowned  workers  in  its  cause, 
made  their  individual  atmospheres  so  dense 
through  prejudice  arising  from  so-called  ortho- 
dox thinking,  that  the  atmosphere  and  vibra- 
tions of  the  age  did  not  affect  them ;  and, 
therefore,  they  were  never  brought  into  connec- 
tion with  the  wires  and  chords  on  which  Truth's 
vibrations  were  being  sounded  from  infinite 
Mind.  This  page  of  history  furnishes  us  with 
a  most  wonderful  example  of  the  power  of  in- 
dividual atmospheres  to  enslave,  or  uplift  man. 
I  do  not  intend  to  enter  here  into  the  causes 
that  brought  about  the  uplifting  atmosphere  of 
this  age ;  they  are  quite  clearly  understood  by 
every  thinking  person.  The  illustration,  how- 
ever, primarily  shows  how  men,  being  both 
philosophers  and  scholars,  may  live  in  an  age 
with  mental  currents  lifting  the  masses  to  a 
conception  of  truth,  and  yet  they,  having  built 


Harmony.  87 

a  mental  wall  around  themselves,  could  not 
receive  a  single  vibration  of  truth,  though  these 
vibrations  were  being  shot  through  the  air  with 
almost  resistless  force.  These  philosophers  and 
scholars,  prejudiced  as  they  were,  could  not  un- 
derstand that  they  themselves  had  builded  the 
walls  of  their  own  prison  house. 

A  similar  illustration  may  be  found  nearer 
home,  in  our  own  times.  A  few  j^ears  ago  an 
investigation  was  made  by  the  legislative  depart- 
ments of  New  York  State  into  the  several  public 
departments  of  the  City  of  New  York,  then  under 
the  management  of  a  party  which  had  controlled 
the  city  government  for  many  yeai-s,  and  cor- 
ruption was  found  everywhere.  The  tax-payers, 
the  thoughtful  ones,  who  took  a  pride  in  their 
city,  were  startled  at  the  revelations  made. 
Protection,  a  word  that  had  always  been  made 
to  signify  a  mantle  of  security,  guarding  each 
individual  in  all  his  constitutional  rights,  was 
made  to  signify  a  cloak  to  cover  and  assist  the 
growth  of  vice  and  crime.  The  foremost  news- 
papers in  the  city  forgot  party  lines,  and  rose 
as  one  to  throttle  and  overcome  the  scorpion 
which  investigation  had  disclosed  as  nursed 
and  guarded  by  the  powers  which  had  so  long 
been  in  control.  A  thought-wave  of  righteous 
indignat?ion  and  invincible  purpose  arose ;  and 


88  Paths  to  Power. 

on  its  current  boldly  went  forth,  hand  in  hand, 
in  perfect  harmony,  those  who  had  been  political 
enemies  before,  but  who  now  found  a  common 
cause  against  the  foe  that  must  be  overcome. 
The  result  of  that  campaign  was  a  triumph, 
brought  about,  unsuspectingly  perhaps,  by  a 
psychic  law,  which  is  absolute.  However,  dur- 
ing that  campaign,  in  spite  of  all  the  irresistible 
force  of  that  thought  current,  and  the  general 
diffusion  of  that  atmosphere,  which  meant  that 
a  higher  intelligence  ought  to  rule  in  this  beau- 
tiful city,  many  men  were  so  tied  by  party  lines 
that  they,  though  honest  themselves,  yet  voted 
to  keep  a  party  in  whose  leaders  had  so  abused 
their  trust.  I  do  not  speak  of  the  masses  who 
always  go,  right  or  wrong,  with  their  party.  I 
speak  of  the  many  intelligent  men,  in  this  par- 
ticular case,  who  voted  with  the  party  just  the 
same  as  they  had  for  years ;  because,  in  their 
mental  work,  they  had  surrounded  themselves 
with  an  atmosphere  that  would  not  permit  them 
to  receive  vibrations  that  swept  over  and  far  be- 
yond the  limits  of  the  great  city. 

The  reformers  came  into  power,  and  their  rec- 
ord has  now  become  a  matter  of  history.  I 
will  not  discuss  it ;  each  man  may  judge  for 
himself;  but,  at  the  close  of  its  legal  term, 
a  greater  city  had  been   organized  out  of  a 


Harmony.  80 

group,  which  in  many  particulars  had  acted  as 
one.  Nominations  were  again  to  be  made,  but 
no  unit  could  be  found  to  stand  against  the  so- 
called  representative  element  that  works  only 
for  spoils.  Harmony  against  that  element  had 
been  broken.  The  campaign  took  on  the  usual 
features;  party  aggrandizement  as  to  the 
leaders,  and  relentless  criticism  from  one  to  an- 
other. Harmony's  chords  were  unstrung  on 
the  harp  which  three  years  before  had  been  laid 
away,  perfect  in  every  part.  The  opposition 
elements,  on  the  other  hand,  were  made  to  ac- 
cept a  single  leader ;  they  obeyed,  there  were 
no  divisions  within  themselves,  they  stood  a 
unit,  they  were  harmonious,  they  won.  In 
short  psychically  considered,  there  was  nothing 
to  prevent  their  winning.  Practically  con- 
sidered, from  a  psychic  standpoint,  they  stood 
for  harmony,  and  the  other  candidates  were  the 
ones  who  censured,  and  the  ones  who  took  upon 
themselves  the  right  to  abuse.  Many  men  who 
could  have  been  moved  by  a  thought-wave  of 
right,  felt  there  were  no  vibrations  worthy  along 
the  lines  they  had  followed  so  long,  and  so  sat 
at  home,  or  voted  with  those  whom  they  had 
called  enemies  before. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  some  personal  examples 
that  are  familiar,  and  note  how  individuals  have 


90  Paths  to  Power. 

created  atmospheres  of  force  about  them,  which 
enabled  them  to  connect  with  the  infinite  force 
and  gain  the  object  of  their  desire. 

Napoleon  Bonaparte,  the  idol  of  France,  and 
a  commander  whom  his  soldiers  idolized  and 
almost  deified,  was  always  certain  of  the  attain- 
ment of  the  object  of  his  desire.  He  brought  an 
atmosphere  about  him  that  connected  himself 
with  infinite  force,  which  gave  him  power  to 
awe  the  multitude  wherever  he  moved.  He 
was  in  harmony  with  a  great  psychic  law — its 
influence  made  him  the  envy  and  terror  of  men 
and  nations.  His  philosophy,  his  secrot  of 
preserving  always  the  atmosphere  he  needed  for 
the  ends  he  had  in  view,  is  reflected  in  a  single 
sentence  which  he  repeatedly  uttered :  "  Impos- 
sible is  the  adjective  of  fools."  His  fall  later  is 
readily  accounted  for  by  the  thoughtful  reader ; 
his  atmosphere  became  disturbed,  doubt  or 
fear  found  lodgment  in  his  consciousness,  and 
then  all  was  lost. 

Abraham  Lincoln,  whose  wonderful  states- 
manship became  the  wonder  of  the  world, 
whose  eloquence,  at  times,  rose  to  the  height 
of  inspiration,  even  he  saw  himself  nominated 
and  elected  President  of  the  United  States  long 
before  his  name  was  ever  mentioned  for  that 
high  ofi&ce.    During  the  memorable  debate  with 


Harmony,  91 

Douglas,  when  he  saw  his  possibilities  of  suc- 
ceeding to  the  senatorship  receding,  and  when 
told  how  his  sentiments  on  the  question  of 
slavery  would  be  answered  by  Douglas,  said ; 
"  Let  him  reply  that  way  if  he  will — he  may 
gain  the  senatorship  thereby,  but  he  will  never 
be  President  of  the  United  States."  "  But,  Mr. 
Lincoln,"  his  friend  expostulated,  "  this  is  not 
a  question  of  presidency."  To  this  Mr.  Lin- 
coln replied  :  "  I  am  thinking  of  1860 — that 
game  is  worth  a  thousand  senatorships."  Two 
years  later  came  1860,  and  Lincoln  led  the 
forces  and  won  in  that  great  contest.  Even 
when  canvassing  for  the  senatorship,  he  doubt- 
less imaged  himself  as  the  successful  candidate 
in  the  following  campaign.  I  feel  confident 
that  he  held  that  image  firmly  during  the  years 
preceeding  the  nomination,  that  he  never  lost 
sight  of  it  for  a  moment,  that  this  produced 
an  atmosphere  about  him  of  such  intensity  and 
of  such  wonderful  radiance,  that  it  penetrated 
through  walls  of  mental  creation,  blending 
other  mentalities  as  one  with  his  in  that  great 
campaign  of  principle  and  freedom. 

Mary  Anderson  played  in  1878  and  1879  to 
audiences  in  Chicago  containing  barely  one 
hundred  people;  all  the  critics  declared  that 
she  was  a  failure,  and  the  great  body  of  theatei 


92  Paths  to  Power. 

goers,  except  in  a  few  favorite  plac-es,  kept 
aloof  from  her  performances.  It  is  known  that 
Mary  Anderson  even  then  believed  herself  a 
great  actress ;  she  did  not  say  "  I  will  become 
a  great  tragedienne,"  she  said,  "  I  am."  She 
did  not  even  stop  to  say  anything  in  argument 
against  the  critics.  Here  she  was  following  a 
psychic  law,  doubtless  without  recognizing  it. 
What  they  said  of  her  did  not  disturb  her — 
she  knew.  Led  divinely  by  psychic  law,  siie 
seemed  to  know  that  every  ideal  must  first  be 
perfectly  and  completely  conceived  mentally; 
that  the  holding  of  the  ideal  and  imaging  it 
with  perfect  form  and  shading  must  precede  its 
visible  creation  to  the  world.  This  mental 
imaging  surrounded  her  with  an  atmosphere 
which  gave  her  the  connecting  links  to  the 
wires  or  chords  that  brought  to  her  the  force  or 
power  she  would,  and  made  her  a  few  years 
later  what  she  grew  to  be,  the  pride  of  all 
lovers  of  the  art  of  refined  acting. 

Probably  no  man  in  the  present  age  stands 
forth  before  metaphysical  students  more  promi- 
nent than  the  scientist.  Professor  Elmer  Gates, 
of  Washington.  I  have  great  pride  in  be- 
ing able  to  name  Professor  Gates  as  a  per- 
sonal friend;  and,  although  he  has  written 
very  little  for  publication  as  yet,  I  am  familiar 


Harmony.  93 

with  much  of  the  work  he  has  done.  Along 
metaphysical  lines  he  has  made  wonderful  pro- 
gress, and  he  always  speaks  most  frankly  and 
freely  of  his  proofs  and  tests.  I  want  to  pre- 
sent here  a  demonstration  of  his,  that  comes 
within  the  scope  of  my  subject. 

Professor  Gates  was  once  visited  by  a  cap- 
italist, who  said  to  him  :  **  I  have  a  granite 
quarry ;  and  I  know  you  have  made  some  won- 
derful inventions.  I  want  to  know  if  you  can 
present  me  with  any  inventions,  by  the  use  of 
which  I  can  cheapen  the  cost  of  the  production 
of  this  granite  for  building  purposes."  "  Very 
well,"  Professor  Gates  said,  '*  I  will  look  into 
the  subject,  and  sit  an  hour  each  day  for  one 
month,  and  give  you  all  the  inventions  that 
come  to  me,  under  an  arrangement  to  be  agreed 
upon."  The  details  of  the  contract  I  do  not 
care  to  enter  here,  but  they  were  in  substance 
this ;  that  this  gentleman  would  pay  a  stipulated 
amount  for  an  hour  a  day  of  Professor  Gates' 
time  for  one  month,  and  receive  for  such  pay- 
ment all  the  inventions  obtained.  Professor 
Gates  told  me  that  he  first  visited  the  quarry  and 
looked  over  the  problem  as  well  as  one  could  on 
the  ground.  He  next  purchased  some  books 
containing  articles  bearing  upon  the  commercial 
question  and  read  these  carefully.     Just  here, 


94  Paths  to  Power. 

while  cultivating  correct  atmosphere  by  the 
means  already  described,  it  is  to  be  noted  he  read 
these  books  just  one  hour  per  day  and  that  hour 
was  kept  sacredly ;  he,  while  reading,  occupying 
the  same  chair  and  room  daily,  time  and  place  be- 
ing made  a  factor  in  the  sittings.  The  results  of 
the  Professor's  efforts  in  this  particular  case,  were 
four  new  inventions,  on  which  letters  patent  were 
granted  by  the  United  States  Patent  Office,  and 
which  inventions  were  deemed  by  the  owner  of 
this  quarry  of  many  hundred  times  the  value 
of  their  cost.  You  will  note  in  this  case  that 
Professor  Gates  first  surrounded  himself  with  a 
correct  atmosphere,  and  it  will  be  particularly 
interesting  to  you,  I  know,  to  note  how  he  pro- 
duced that  atmosphere  ;  that  done,  as  I  under- 
stand the  philosophy  I  am  herein  presenting,  he 
came  in  direct  contact  with  the  wires  or  chords 
that  bound  him  to  infinite  Mind. 

Professor  Gates  has  made  a  specialty  of 
sitting  for  inventions,  and  his  notes  show 
that  he  has  brought  forth  over  twenty-two 
hundred.  Many  of  these,  of  course,  have  never 
been  patented  or  brought  into  practical  use.  In 
fact,  in  many  cases,  in  sitting  for  inventions,  he 
was  doing  so  largely  to  test  and  prove  his 
theories.  Once  I  asked  him  the  question,  if  he 
did  not  believe  that  inventions  were  often  re- 


Harmony.  95 

ceived  by  him  through  telepathy  from  another  in- 
ventor who  had  been  working  on  the  same  lines. 
He  told  me  he  had  no  doubt  about  it ;  but  claimed 
that  he  could  readily  distinguish  between 
thoughts  arising  through  conscious  mind,  sub- 
conscious mind,  and  telepathic  communication. 
When  one  has  made  himself  so  sensitive,  let 
me  say  just  here,  as  to  always  be  certain 
whether  the  thought  is  conscious  or  subcon- 
scious, he  has  made  a  great  stride  in  psychic 
development,  even  though  he  may  sometimes 
mistake  a  telepathic  communication  for  that  of 
the  subconscious. 

Here  it  might  be  well  to  say  a  word  about 
prayer.  Every  student  in  the  advanced  meta- 
physics of  the  age  is  frequently  asked  if  he  does 
not  believe  in  prayer,  or  in  the  answer  to  prayer. 
It  seems  to  me  that  the  illustrations  which  I  have 
been  presenting  clearly  show  that  many  have 
learned  the  way  to  power  without  understand- 
ing psychic  laws.  Now,  as  to  prayer.  One  may 
have  the  orthodox  idea  that  God  is  a  person- 
ality, as  described  by  the  theologian,  who  ruled 
at  one  time  over  nothingness,  and  by  a  word 
brought  into  physical  existence  all  life;  and, 
after  that,  fashioned  laws  to  regulate  that  life 
and  continue  it.  Now,  let  one  kneel  in  prayer 
and  appeal  to  that   God  in  the  skies.     Even 


96  Paths  to  Power. 

though  he  so  beseeches,  the  very  act  shows  that 
down  in  his  heart  he  believes  he  has  some  right 
to  call  on  that  God  to  bring  to  him  what  he  begs. 
In  short,  there  is  some  faith  inherent  within  him, 
or  he  could  not  make  the  prayer.  Naturally 
you  will  note  the  effect  of  the  attitude  and  act. 
He  is  taking  a  preliminary  step  toward  creating 
correct  atmosphere.  If  he  succeed  in  doing  that, 
no  matter  if  his  theories  are  all  wrong,  he  will 
make  connections  thereby  with  the  lines  that 
reach  the  infinite  force  desired  and  gain  the  aid 
be  seeks.  This  is  my  reply  to  the  question : 
"  Is  prayer  answered  ?  '* 

To  make  my  paper  still  more  practical,  in  ad- 
dition to  the  many  illustrations  herein  given, 
let  me  present  one  other,  that  the  ground  may 
be  so  fully  covered  that  all  will  clearly  under- 
stand my  theory  as  to  merging  one*s  self  into  har- 
mony's vibrations. 

A  friend  of  mine,  who  is  a  teacher  of  the 
Delsartian  system,  and  has  made  a  great  rep- 
utation for  herself  as  such  a  teacher,  wrote 
me  a  short  time  ago,  saying  that  she  wished  to 
make  herself  recognized  as  a  leader  among  the 
teachers  of  that  art,  and  that  she  felt  herself  lack- 
ing in  fluency  in  expression.  "  Now,"  she  said, 
"tell  me  what  to  do."  I  knew  that  she  was 
master  of  all  the  books  could  teach  on  the  sub- 


Harmony.  97 

ject.  I  knew  she  held  a  prominent  position  and 
Avas  in  receipt  of  a  most  liberal  compensation 
for  her  work  ;  1,  therefore,  knew  tliat  she  was 
master  of  all  the  drudgery  of  the  work  ;  that  to 
gain  what  she  would,  she  must  now  learn  and 
obey  psychic  laws.  Here  are  the  suggestions 
I  gave  to  her  : 

''  First,  for  fluency  in  expression,  to  express 
thought  on  a  chosen  subject  in  the  best  pos- 
sible terms,  you  start  to  create  a  correct  at- 
mosphere by  the  use  of  some  formulas,  which 
stand  for  your  ideal ;  and,  as  you  repeat  them  in 
the  silence,  you  must  image  yourself  as  possess- 
ing already  all  they  express.  Your  true  ego,  of 
course,  has  all  power,  because  it,  through  vi- 
brations, possesses  all  the  masterly  brilliancy 
of  expression  the  Infinite  can  conceive  ;  there- 
fore, you  are  only  calling  from  the  inexhaustible 
storehouse  some  of  your  own  treasures.  What 
shall  these  formulas  be  ?  You  may  fashion 
them  better  than  I ;  but  I  will  give  a  few  here 
which  you  may  adopt,  or  you  may  use  others  that 
suggest  themselves : — I  am  intelligent  expres- 
sion; I  am  the  exponent  of  thoughts  unex- 
pressed; I  am  the  expression  of  crystallized 
thought ;  I  am  language  that  images  thought ; 
I  am  the  magnet  that  draws  the  substance  that 
molds  thought  into  perfect  expression ;  I  am 
7 


98  Paths  to  Power. 

the  magnet  that  attracts  and  holds  listeners, 
seeking  truth  in  the  science  of  expression  ; 
around  me  are  the  emanations  of  the  Infinite  on 
all  the  lines  of  expression,  and  I  enter  into  the 
infinite  vibrations  of  intelligent  thought ;  I  am, 
therefore,  the  ideal  of  expression. 

Second,  for  grace,  power,  beauty  and  force 
on  the  lines  of  Delsarte  : — I  am  the  embodiment 
of  the  intelligent  expression  of  thought  through 
movement ;  I  receive  through  the  Infinite,  the 
vibrations  that  gave  to  the  world  Delsarte; 
the  world  is  ready  for  advanced  expression  on 
these  lines,  and  I  am  selected  to  receive  and 
give  them  to  the  world ;  I  am  the  exponent  of 
the  advanced  philosophy  of  expression  ;  I  am 
the  magnet  that  draws  this  grace  from  the  In- 
finite, and  the  reservoir  of  power  that  scatters 
it  out  to  the  thinking  world ;  I  am  master  of 
the  art — I  am  supreme.  When  I  say  you  must 
image  yourself  as  possessing  already,  I  want  you 
to  understand  that  that  image  must  not  be  a 
shadowy  or  a  vague  one,  neither  must  it  be  one 
that  you  look  at  in  the  distance.  You  must  see 
it  directly  in  front  of  you,  standing  before  you, 
just  stepping  out,  as  it  were,  of  the  frame 
of  a  picture,  perfect,  complete,  in  every  way. 
Unless  the  image  is  so  defined  and  held  firmly 
in  the  silence,  the  light  of  spirit,  shining  upon 


Harmony.  99 

it,  would  not  reflect  a  perfect  ideal.  From 
my  standpoint  these  are  all  the  suggestions 
you  need ;  they,  carefully  followed,  should 
bring  you  into  the  harmonious  vibrations  that 
will  give  you  all  you  seek.  You  want  to  come 
into  the  harmonious  vibrations  of  infinite  poise, 
power,  and  symmetry,  that  met  the  intelligence 
of  Delsarte;  but  what  he  learned,  you,  in  no 
way,  want  to  copy.  Years  have  passed  since 
he  learned  the  grace,  the  power,  and  the 
character  in  poise.  The  Infinite  has  more  to 
give  you  to-day  than  It  could  give  to  him. 
You  are  now  ready  to  receive  it;  then  hold 
yourself  in  silence,  so  as  to  receive  it.  In  your 
daily  work,  pause,  and  passively  wait,  in  lis- 
tening attitude  for  guidance;  something  new 
may  be  told  you  at  any  time.  It  will  be 
very  little  to  the  untrained  artist,  but  to 
you  it  will  be  a  revelation.  Then,  when  the 
day's  tasks  are  done,  relax  in  whatever  way 
seems  best  to  you.  Do  not  think  that  your 
spiritual  advancement  demands  of  you  any 
sacrifice  so  that  you  cannot  enjoy  even  a  good 
dinner,  applaud  a  good  story  well  told,  or 
enter  pleasantly  and  heartily  into  any  jollity  of 
life."  ' 

In  my  introduction,  in  laying  out  the  ground 
I  would  cover  in  this  paper,  I  stated  my  axioms. 


100  Paths  to  Power. 

and  claimed  that  after  one  had  learned  the  secret 
of  producing  the  atmosphere  he  desired,  there 
was  nothing  left  for  him  except  to  learn  how  to 
sit  and  wait.  With  these  illustrations  I  have 
been  emphatic,  as  I  have  frequently  been  in 
other  papers,  in  suggesting  that  we  should 
always  sit  when  reaching  for  advancement,  at 
the  same  hour  each  day,  in  the  same  chair,  and - 
in  the  same  room ;  but  care  should  be  taken 
not  to  draw  the  head  forward,  as  I  would  have 
you  preserve  a  straight  line  from  the  base  of 
the  spine  to  its  connection  with  the  base  of  the 
brain.  Having  relaxed,  you  may  fold  your 
hands  or  let  both  of  them  rest  in  your  lap,  and 
then  keep  still.  By  keeping  still,  I  mean  that 
you  do  not  stir.  If  stray  hairs  seem  to  fall 
over  your  face  and  tickle,  you  must  learn 
not  to  move  your  hand  to  brush  them  away. 
Knowledge  can  only  come  to  you  from  the  In- 
finite when  you  are  still.  Of  course,  it  may 
come  in  a  moment  of  stillness,  when  you  are 
sitting  listlessly;  but  the  discipline  herein 
proposed  is  to  put  yourself  consciously  into 
an  attitude  to  draw  that  power  and  force.  I  ap- 
preciate that  I  am  writing  to  thoughtful  people, 
many  of  whom  may  have  made  great  progress 
on  metaphysical  lines.  For  all  that,  I  have 
tried  to  be  as  full  and  clear  in  presenting  some 


Harmony.  loi 

of  the  truths  I  have  learned,  as  if  I  were  ad- 
dressing only  amateurs  in  the  thought.  For 
this,  perhaps,  I  should  apologize,  and  yet  I  could 
hardly  present  the  subject  satisfactorily  in  any 
other  way.  I  am  familiar  with  the  teachings 
of  the  various  schools  of  Christian,  mental,  and 
spiritual  science  healers ;  I  recognize  the  good 
in  each.  From  each  I  have  received  help.  In- 
dian thought  occupied  me  first,  however,  and 
later  I  was  led  naturally  to  look  into  spiritual- 
ism, or  spiritism,  to  find  the  psychic  law  govern- 
ing spiritual  phenomena.  I  believe  I  have 
discovered  it,  though  I  am.  not  quite  ready  to 
present  it  yet  in  detail.  This  has  aided  me 
greatly  in  carrying  forward  my  experiments 
and  learning  the  law  of  how  to  gain  power, 
how  to  attain  desire,  how  to  live. 

We  live  in  a  most  wonderful  age  of  men- 
tal development,  and  whatever  of  truth  any  of 
us  can  bring  to  light,  ought  to  be  given  to  the 
world  as  a  duty  we  owe  to  mankind.  I  have 
presented  here  a  method  which  I  trust  some 
may  find  practical ;  each,  however,  must  find  a 
method  of  his  own,  differing  more  or  less  from 
that  of  another  student.  My  experiments  are 
proving  to  me  the  truths  of  this  philosophy. 
Work  it  over,  sift  it,  modify  it  as  you  the  reader 


102  Paths  to  Power. 

may  find  necessary  to  bring  you  to  the  way,  the 
truth,  and  the  life. 

I  am  that  I  am— who  speaks  it 

Feels  a  thrill  of  a  power  sublime 
For  the  thought  is  Divinity's  breathing 

And  echoes  grand  harmony's  chime. 
You  speak  it,  and  listen,  and  know, 

Of  the  oneness  of  life  that  holds  all 
Of  the  unity,  perfect  and  vast, 

That  awakens  as  Spirit  may  call. 

I  am  that  I  am — can  you  grasp  it. 

And  the  truth  it  brings  home  to  you? 
You  are  what  you  will,  do  you  know  it  ? 

Within  is  the  word,  it  can  do 
All  you  ask — it  gave  birth  to  desire 

That  told  of  the  blessings  to  be, 
If  you  but  accept  the  message  in  faith, 

From  all  bondage  the  word  sets  you  free. 

I  am  that  I  am — 'tis  the  language  of  soul, 

That  breaks  from  the  selfhood  divine. 
It's  a  truth  that  it  learned  in  its  pilgrimages — far 

From  material  things — in  realms  where  shine 
Through  the  ethers  the  thoughts  that  take  hue, 

And  in  colors  more  truly  reflect. 
What  is  meant,  what  is  felt,  what  is  known, 

Than  the  choicest  of  words  we  select. 

I  am  that  I  am — live  close  to  this  truth 
And  daily  commune  with  your  God, 

With  the  light  that's  within,  the  Self  of  all  selves 
'Tis  the  path  that  the  genius  has  trod. 


Harmony.  io3 

What  would  you— 'tis  yours  if  you  ask, 

If  believing,  you  know  as  you  call, 
The  oneness  of  thought,  the  oneness  of  power 

life's  absolute  oneness,  you  on©  with  the  AU. 


THE  ASSERTION  OF  THE  I. 

"  All  that  ye  need  is  near  ye, 
God  is  complete  supply 
Trust— have  faith,  then  hear  ye— 
Dare  to  assert  the  I. 

"  Power  is  within  and  about  ye, 

Keep  toward  the  light  thine  eye, 
Naught  can  come  near  to  rout  ye 
Who  have  dared  to  assert  the  I." 

Thesb  verses  were  written  by  one  who 
claimed  to  receive  them  from  forces  without. 
The  same  power  that  controlled  the  hand  that 
wrote,  signed  two  spirit  names  to  them,  one 
Egyptian  and  the  other  Hindu.  So  much  for 
their  authorship ;  within  them  is  the  condensed 
philosophy  of  the  advanced  metaphysics  of  this 
most  advanced  age  of  progress.  I  make  them 
my  theme  for  this  paper  on  the  Asserting  of 
the  I. 

When  the  spiritual  I,  the  I  that  represents 
your  true  ego,  the  soul,  the  deathless  I  speaks, 
it  speaks  beyond  the  plane  of  doubt,  and  it 
utters  only  truths.  Your  conscious  self  may  be 
appalled  at  times  at  its  utterances ;  and,  in  weak- 
104 


The  Assertion  of  the  I.  105 

liess,  this  same  conscious  (intellectual)  self 
questions  the  soul  with  "How  dare  you?" 
Thus  are  the  inspirational  impulses  of  man's 
divinity  called  to  book  by  the  unreal  selfhood. 
Let  us  look  into  our  selfhoods  that  we  may  reach 
to  the  real,  and  understand  it. 

You  have  all  had  moments  when  doubt  and 
despair,  having  woven  their  blinding  webs  about 
you,  the  two  little  words  "  I  can  "  or  *'  I  will  " 
came  forth  unbidden,  sending  a  joyful  current 
through  your  being,  that  bore  you  quickly  from 
the  sea  of  uncertainty  to  the  bright  harbor  of 
peace  and  joy.  In  such  cases,  those  were  soul 
assertions,  spoken  so  their  vibrating  truths  re- 
vealed their  fatherhood.  The  strong  character 
derives  his  force  from  his  spoken  words,  from 
the  thoughts  he  thinks  and  shapes,  the  so-called 
weak  or  vacillating  character  from  his.  Char- 
acter, as  I  understand  it,  is  a  product  of  thought. 
Thought  molds  language  to  give  expression  to 
the  concepts  it  fashions ;  and  these  spoken,  reflect 
their  force  back  to  intelligence.  At  the  same 
time,  they  are  thrown  out  on  the  ethers  of  the 
air,  which,  by  an  inevitable  law,  acting  as  a 
sounding  board,  sends  them  back  with  newly 
gathered  force,  and  thus  is  character  built  up. 

"  The  little  thoughts  I  think,  the  little  words  I  say 
Are  the  little  seeds  I  scatter  day  by  day." 


io6  Paths  to  Power. 

To  control  thought  is  the  secret  of  all  ad- 
vancement, and  that  power  to  control  is  ours,  if 
we  exercise  it.  Instruction  as  to  how  to  control 
thought  has  been  too  general  and  vague.  One's 
intelligence  quickly  accepts  the  truths  of  the 
philosophy  from  which  we  deduce  two  conclu* 
sions :  "  Man's  individuality  is  a  product  of 
thought,"  and  "  Man  controls  his  own  thought." 
And  yet,  the  same  intelligence  that  declares  it- 
self in  complete  harmony  with  this  philosophy, 
goes  on  too  often  in  the  self-same  way  with  its 
criticisms  on  self,  thereby  proving  that  it  has 
never  taken  the  lesson  home.  In  short,  the  great 
mass  of  humanity  seems  to  be  content  to  be 
tossed  about  with  the  driftwood  of  thought, 
rather  than  to  make  the  necessary  effort  to  as- 
sert the  I  and  know  its  divine  power.  To  break 
up  old  and  erroneous  habits  of  thinking  is  not 
the  formidable  task  reformers  have  declared. 
Man  is  not  weak,  but  strong  ;  when  he  speaks 
from  the  divine  selfhood,  he  is  a  god,  and  around 
the  vibrations  of  "  I  will,"  he  builds  a  foi> 
tress. 

"  How  shall  I  a  habit  break  ? 
As  you  did  the  habit  make  ; 
As  you  gathered,  you  must  lose  ; 
As  you  yielded,  now  refuse. 
Thread  by  thread,  the  strands  we  twist. 
Till  they  bind  us  neck  and  wrist ; 


The  Assertion  of  the  I.  107 

Thread  by  thread,  the  patient  hand 
Must  untwine  ere  free  we  stand. 
As  we  builded  stone  by  stone, 
We  must  toil  un helped,  alone, 
Till  the  wall  is  overthrown. 

**  But  remember  as  we  try, 
Lighter  every  task  goes  by  ; 
Wading  in  the  stream  grows  deep, 
Toward  the  center's  downward  sweep ; 
Backward  turn  and  step  ashore, 
Shallower  is  there  than  before. 
Ah,  the  previous  years  we  waste 
Leveling  what  we  raised  in  haste, 
Doing  what  must  be  undone, 
Ere  content  or  love  be  won. 
First  across  the  gulf  we  cast, 
Kite-born  threads  till  lines  are  passed 
And  habit  builds  the  bridge  at  last." 

Having  a  definite  purpose  in  view,  you  first 
should  image  yourself  as  having  already  reached 
the  height  you  would.  Sit  down  in  the  silence, 
and  over  and  over  again  sketch  mentally  the 
picture,  till  you  can  instantly  call  it  to  mind  and 
see  it  clear  with  all  its  perfect  shadings.  This 
is  the  preliminary  work  or  drill.  Use  thought 
only  to  sketch  clearly  the  picture  at  first; 
that  is,  don't  anxiously  question  as  to  how  you 
will  get  the  material  to  paint  it,  or  where  you 
will  procure  the  canvas  on  which  it  will  rest. 
Your  first  task  is  to  see  yourself  as  you  would 


io8  Paths  to  Power. 

make  yourself.  No  architect  can  draw  the 
elevation  and  plans  for  the  building  until  he 
definitely  conceives  them.  The  picture  must 
be  clear  and  perfect  in  his  mind  before  he  com- 
mences the  drawings ;  so  you  must  first  see 
clearly  what  you  desire,  what  you  would  rather 
be ;  then,  that  perfect  picture  stands  forth  as 
the  goal. 

Persistently  you  must  turn  to  it,  and  draw 
yourself  to  it  to  harmonize  thought,  so  as  to  call 
the  forces  to  you  that  you  may  attain. 

I  cannot  dwell  too  long  on  this  image  or 
picture  drawing.  If  you  follow  the  lead  of  the 
school  of  painters  called  Impressionists,  in  this 
imaging,  your  drawings  will  be  too  shadowy  or 
too  blurred  to  serve  your  purpose.  There  must 
be  nothing  indefinite  about  them.  They  must 
be  clear  and  perfect.  Their  aura  will  lack 
alike  the  repelling  and  the  attractive  force  re- 
quired, if  every  line  does  not  stand  out  full  and 
clear. 

Granting  the  picture  has  been  drawn  so 
perfectly  that  instantly  the  mental  eye  can  call 
it  up  and  rest  its  gaze  there,  we  turn  to  our 
philosophy  and  ask  the  path  to  the  possession 
of  the  ideal.  Naturally,  you  will  note  the  rea- 
son why  I  have  made  preliminary  the  definite- 
ness  of  imaging  the  ideal.     Without  that,  you 


The  Assertion  of  the  I.         109 

Lave  no  goal ;  if  there  be  no  goal,  there  can  be  no 
paths  and  roads,  for  paths  and  roads  must  lead 
to  place. 

The  mistake  made  by  the  logical  for  ages  has 
been  the  studying  to  find  the  path  leading  to 
the  goal  or  light,  fancy  had  rudely  sketched  as 
an  unfixed  place  more  attractive  and  more  de- 
sirable than  the  one  occupied.  Longing  or 
wantonly  desiring  something  better  than  one 
possesses,  and  blindly  seeking  paths  to  the  un- 
known and  unimaged,  means  merely  that  the 
individual  is  trying  to  get  away  from  something 
he  dislikes.  He  then  is  seeking  paths  that  lead 
from  a  place  or  so-called  environment,  that  is 
all.  He  is  trying  to  free  himself  from  some- 
thing ;  that  is  aimless. 

Let  me  try  and  emphasize  this  with  a  few 
practical  illustrations.  In  a  rustic  school,  v/e 
find  a  young  girl  who  has  exhibited  a  taste  and 
skill  for  drawing  and  sketching.  Her  teacher 
recognizes  in  her  something  more  than  talent ; 
and  the  young  girl's  ambition  rises  at  times  to  a 
craving  for  better  instruction,  for  an  opportu- 
nity to  test  herself.  With  that  ambition  comes 
the  realizing  sense  of  her  surroundings,  the  pov- 
erty of  her  parents,  it  may  be,  or  some  other  ob- 
stacle the  logic  of  sense  perception  suggests. 
If  the  practical,  so-called,  predominates  in  her, 


no  Paths  to  Power. 

her  ambition  is  checked  with  the  "  impossibles  ** 
and  "  cannots  '*  of  conscious  reasoning,  and  she 
may  go  through  life  with  the  refrain  of  what 
she  wished  and  could  not  trembling  on  her  lips. 
The  false  teachings  and  the  false  philosophy  of 
the  ages  so  weighted  the  atmosphere  about  her 
that  she  did  not  see  the  light.  She  looked  for 
paths  and  could  not  find  them.  She  did  not 
recognize  the  message,  nor  whence  its  source. 
Had  she  done  that  she  might  have  imaged 
the  ideal  and  held  it  firm;  then  paths 
would  have  opened.  You  may  decide  to  go 
west  to-night,  but  until  you  fix  your  destina- 
tion more  specific  than  "the  west,"  there 
is  no  need  of  your  studying  railway  time- 
tables. 

Robert  Fulton  first  applied  the  power  of  steam 
to  navigation,  and  the  practical  men  of  the  day 
laughed  at  the  folly  of  his  wasting  time  and 
money  on  what  was  deemed  by  them  a  useless 
toy.  He  was  his  own  engineer  on  that  first  trip 
from  New  York  to  Albany  ;  and,  though  people 
at  places  along  the  banks  of  the  river  crowded 
to  see  the  strange  craft,  not  a  single  fare  was 
collected.  About  to  return  from  Albany,  one 
man  came  asking  the  fare, — $6.00— and  paid  it. 
Even  that  was  a  God-send  to  Robert  Fulton, 
for  his  purse  was  drained.      That  round  trip, 


The  Assertion  of  the  I.         iii 

however,  made  people  more  wise,  and  the  prac- 
ticability of  the  invention  was  demonstrated. 
Steam  power  was  practicable  for  navigation,  they 
said ;  but  they  also  said :  Of  course,  it  can 
never  be  used  on  the  ocean,  for  the  wood  re- 
quired to  run  it  (coal  was  not  to  us  a  fuel  then) 
w^ould  more  than  load  the  vessel.  Robert  Ful- 
ton did  not  trouble  himself  about  the  question 
of  fuel,  nor  of  that  of  many  other  patlis  to  the 
end — he  kept  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  light.  With 
vision  beyond  the  reach  of  clairvoyance,  he  saw 
steam  moving  mighty  vessels  over  all  expanses 
of  water.  How  the  steam  would  be  manufac- 
tured did  not  disturb  him.  He  recognized  God's 
message  to  him  from  the  infinite,  then  he 
imaged  the  material  creation  to  be,  and  firmly 
held  that  image  to  the  light.  Against  poverty, 
against  ridicule,  against  the  known  scientific 
laws,  against  the  undreamed  source  of  fuel 
supply,  he  labored  in  the  cause  of  truth  to  at- 
tain an  ideal  and  to  bless  mankind.  Clairaudi- 
ent  he  may  have  been,  though,  if  so,  he  never 
told  it ;  but  it  seems  to  me,  as  I  write,  that  he 
must  have  heard  over  and  over  again  the  in- 
spired words  of  those  ancient  guides,  "Keep 
toward  the  light  thine  eye."  By  so  doing,  faith 
became  triumphant,  and  the  ceaseless  soul 
breathings  of  ''  I  can  "  and  "  I   will's  "  rever- 


112  Paths  to  Power. 

berating  force,  opened  all  paths  to  the  clearly 
defined  and  perfect  goal. 

History  is  full  of  examples  showing  how  per- 
fectly men  have  followed  psychic  laws  subcon- 
sciously to  the  attainment  of  purpose.  To-day, 
in  an  effort  to  gain  power,  the  advanced  think- 
er, with  full  recognition  of  these  laws,  is  only 
asking  their  application  to  himself.  I  trust 
now  we  have  reached  that  plane  where  doubt 
cannot  come.  If  one  questions  the  message, 
let  him  wait  in  the  silence  still.  There,  and  there 
alone,  must  he  seek  knowledge ;  there  must 
he  wait,  until  he  knows.  It  is  true  that  I  have 
been  emphatic  on  this  in  other  papers ;  but,  in 
this,  we  must  review  somewhat,  that  the  phi- 
losophy may  stand  out  in  all  its  completeness. 

With  the  message  of  inspiration  and  promise, 
came  to  you  first  a  shadowy  picture  afar  off. 
Again  and  again  the  picture  came,  and  half 
consciously,  as  you  gazed  upon  it,  you  heard  the 
word,  "yours."  Never  doubt  after  that. 
Through  every  fiber  of  your  being  ran  a  thrill 
of  joy ;  it  was  the  infinite  force  of  the  universe 
bringing  you  into  fellowship  with  your  own 
divine  selfhood.  Recognize  your  oneness  with 
it  and  know  the  truth.  The  image  will  rise 
from  the  mist  surrounding,  like  the  face  from 
the  canvas  touched  by  the  brush  of   the  artist 


The  Assertion  of  the  I.         113 

inspired  from  the  unseen.  The  longed-for  be- 
comes the  true,  the  real.  Without  hesitation 
over  ways  and  paths,  you  know  the  image  a? 
the  real,  that  it  is,  and  is  yours. 

**  True  majesty  is  self -poised  man— 
There  is  no  higher  thing. 
Man  has  lived  all,  has  made  the  span 
From  molecule  to  king. 

*'  So  live  for  what  thou  art  to-day, 
Thy  thought  blooms  every  hour, 
Thy  spirit  knows  no  truer  way 
Than  free-thought's  full-blown  flower. 

"  Self  is  thy  stronghold  ;  stand  for  self — 
'Tis  the  noblest  attitude. 
The  universe  of  love  and  wealth 
Cannot  thy  claim  elude. 

*'  Hold  high,  hold  strong  ;  have  faith  that  moves 
The  mountains,  sails  the  air. 
Be  fearless,  for  thy  love  behooves 
To  more  than  priest  or  prayer. 

*'  Be  thine  own  prayer  ;  be  thine  own  priest ; 
Permit  no  man  to  say. 
In  what  thy  soul  finds  flow  or  feast, 
Or  where  thy  joyful  sway. 

"  Stand  thou  for  truth,  with  love  beside ; 
Then  in  thy  radiant  soul, 
Naught  of  ill  can  thee  betide 
Or  turn  thee  from  thy  goaL 
8 


114  Paths  to  Power. 

*'  All,  all  is  thine,  O  prescient  man ! 
No  link  in  all  life's  chain 
But  lends  thee  to  the  utmost  span, 
Far  reaching  to  remain. 


*•  The  Source,  the  wordless  All-in-all^ 
Which  fills  man  will  conspire 
To  cast  himself  into  the  thrall, 
With  his  celestial  fire." 


The  series  of  papers  which  I  have  presented 
to  you,  lead  up  to  this.  You  have  become 
acquainted  with  the  deathless  ego.  You  know 
it  to  be  a  cell  in  the  creative  force  of  the  uni- 
verse. It  is  useful  to  that  force,  and  harmonizes 
with  all  the  thought  cells  that  make  up  the 
sublime  unity  of  the  life  principle.  To  assert 
the  I  is  to  declare  truth.  You  cannot  doubt 
that.  But  where  are  your  doubts  ?  Have  you 
not  risen  above  them  ?  Did  not  the  light  of 
truth  long  ago  dissolve  them?  You  know  it 
did  ;  and,  standing  forth  in  the  light,  recogniz- 
ing the  great  Impersonal  God  of  life  and  your 
relations  to  It,  in  joy  and  love  you  speak  from 
the  center  declaring  the  truth  in, "  I  am  supreme." 
Those  three  words,  spoken  with  faith  from  the 
center  of  your  being,  which  is  the  center  of  the 
universe  to  you,  will  call  to  you  the  power  you 
need. 


The  Assertion  of  the  I.         115 

Descend  not  to  despond, 

But  ever  look  beyond, 

Where  shines  the  light 

Through  day  and  niglit, 

God  and  thyself — leave  thoughts  of  pelf. 

Speak  truth,  and  teach  the  right;. 


**  Some  truth  there  be 
All  do  not  see 
To  you  become  most  clear  ; 
So  let  them  hear 

That  they  may  grow,  till  they  shall  know- 
God  is  in  each  and  everywhere. 

"  All  purpose  high 
Shines  from  the  I, 
Each  temporal  good 
Stands  as  it  should. 
Even  as  you  stand,  full  is  the  hand 
Of  bounty  from  the  boundless  shore." 


In  concluding,  let  me  give  an  interpretation 
of  "  work  out  your  own  salvation,"  quite  different 
from  the  orthodox  one.  The  expression  is  not  a 
command.  Truth,  expressed  in  language,  often 
seems  like  commands.  To  "  work  out  your  own 
salvation  '*  is  to  attain  '*  your  own  ideal.'*  That 
is  the  goal  your  fondest  desire  has  imaged,  and 
that  is  your  divine  right.  The  acceptance  of 
this  truth  will  bring  you  to  a  true  comprehen- 
••ion  of  the  real  meaning  of  the  love  of  God. 


^i6  Paths  to  Power. 

"  What  would'st  thou  ?    All  is  thine— 
The  ways  are  opening  for  thee. 
The  light  of  truth  doth  shine, 
Then  halt  not — question  not, 
Be  still  and  assert  the  I." 


THE  TREE  OF  KNOWLEDGE— OF 
GOOD  AND  EVIL.* 

The  allegory  of  the  Garden  of  Eden  is  now, 
at  this  period  of  history,  first  being  given  an 
intelligent  interpretation.  We  have  clung 
tenaciously  to  the  letter,  and  have  thereby  lost 
sight  of  the  spirit,  the  lesson,  the  truth.  Not 
recognizing  the  real  entity  in  the  human  form, 
we  expanded  the  family  tie  of  blood  through 
genealogical  studies  to  cover  the  whole  human 
race,  until  we  found  in  Adam  and  Eve  a  com- 
mon parentage.  Cunning  devices  have  been 
resorted  to  to  account  for  racial  differences. 
Noah,  chosen  of  God  as  representing  the  most 
perfect  type  of  human  perfection,  must  curse 
his  own  son  to  account  for  the  negro  ;  and  the 
record  is  absolutely  silent  as  to  the  North  and 
South  American  Indians,  and  as  to,  at  least, 
one  of  the  Asiatic  races. 

As  the  study  of  soul  and  its  far-reaching 
powers  progresses,  in  the  spirit  illumination 
now  appearing,  ushering  in  the  dawn  of  a  new 

*  Read  before  the  School  of  Philosophy,  New  York 
City,  June  3, 1899. 

"7 


ii8  Paths  to  Power. 

century,  the  stumbling  blocks  of  the  early  histo- 
rian disappear.  Adam's  advent  could  not  repre- 
sent the  beginning  of  soul  life.  Where  there 
is  a  beginning  there  must  be  an  end.  The 
soul,  the  unseen,  through  vibrations,  binding 
and  blending  it  with  creative  energy,  gave  ex- 
pression to  material  form.  This  material  form 
(the  effect)  then,  became  the  casing  that  soul 
had  created  for  itself.  It  gave  it  a  new  phase 
of  existence.  Within  materiality  there  was  for 
it  growth,  as  well  as  fetters  to  be  broken.  The 
Adam  ages  typifies  the  entrance  of  soul  into 
material  form ;  it  represents  the  childhood  of 
humanity.  The  Garden  of  Eden  stands  for 
the  nursery  and  schoolroom  of  to-day,  where 
physical  force  is  gained  and  mental  culture 
started  to  fit  the  youth  to  dare  to  partake  of 
the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowledge — of  good 
and  evil.  Had  the  soul  sent  forth  no  breath- 
ings to  consciousness  of  undeveloped  powers 
within,  humanity  might  have  halted  when  it 
had  solved  the  simple  problem  of  sustaining 
physical  life.  Had  the  soul,  the  real  entity, 
remained  silent,  separate  and  distinct  from 
the  objective  personality,  there  would  have 
been  no  advance,  no  progress,  no  art,  no  cul- 
ture, no  national  emblems,  no  evil,  no  war,  no 
honor,   no  patriotism,    no  heroism,  no   glory. 


The  Tree  of  Knowledge.  119 

Little  by  little  has  man's  conscious  self  come 
to  a  realization  of  the  countless  treasures  con- 
tained within  the  soul.  Little  by  little  has 
conscious  selfhood  learned  how  to  appropriate 
them,  so  as  to  fulfil  the  desires  of  the  mind. 

To  grow,  to  attain  to  the  possibilities  of 
intelligent  manhood,  to  fit  others  to  live 
worthily  in  this  thought-age  of  history,  some 
brave  and  fearless  minds  generations  ago 
broke  from  the  dogma  of  tradition  and  led  the 
way  for  the  unborn  millions  to  reach  the  heights 
only  obtainable  by  those  who  have  dared  to  eat 
of  the  tree  of  knowledge.  It  was  a  most 
materialistic  age  when  writers  could  conceive 
of  a  creator  so  cruel  and  despotic  as  to  tempt 
his  own  creations  to  seek  knowledge,  the  pur- 
pose of  which  was  to  destroy  and  not  to  uplift. 
They  did  not  understand  man,  and  hence  their 
ignorance  of  God.  They  wrote  from  their 
plane  of  comprehension.  Suffering  and  torture 
were,  in  their  philosophy,  the  only  forces  to 
bring  or  compel  man  to  right  action.  For 
holding  this  belief,  they  are  no  more  to  be  cen- 
sured than  a  child  is  to  be  censured  for  not  com- 
prehending the  intricate  laws  involved  in  the 
use  of  steam  and  electricity.  Their  under- 
standing was  bounded  by  a  low  horizon.  They 
wrote  for  the  intelligence  of  the  age  they  lived 


120  Paths  to  Power. 

in.  Thousands  of  years  have  passed  since  the 
record  contained  in  the  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment was  written.  Evolution  has  been  at 
work,  and  it  has  brought  to  man's  conscious- 
ness some  knowledge  of  the  real  selfhood  and 
its  relations  to  the  entire  cosmos.  It  is  right, 
therefore,  that  the  intelligence  of  this  age 
should  boldly  raise  its  voice  against  the  teach- 
ings of  the  devotees  of  that  childhood  of  igno- 
rance, as  it  would  against  the  stupidity  of  him 
who  would  insist  that  no  books  should  ever  be 
read  by  humanity  except  the  fairy  tales  that 
interest  early  childhood. 

Does  one  ask  why  this  tree  of  knowledge, 
bringing  possible  advancement  to  the  entire 
world,  is  mentioned  as  both  good  and  evil? 
No  one  can  know  good  unless  he  finds  its  co- 
respondent, or  its  contradiction,  which  has 
been  named  evil.  To-day  we  know  that  this 
word  is  only  the  opposite  of  good — a  relative 
term.  There  can  be  no  such  entity  as  evil. 
Mentality  could  not  define  such  an  entity,  and 
thought  could  not  conceive  of  it.  The  word 
evil  represents  to  our  mind  a  lesser  good  than 
we  crave;  that  is  all.  The  tree  whose  fruit 
brings  good  and  evil  to  him  who  partakes, 
has  possible  dangers  lurking  within  the  knowl- 
edge it  offers.     In  short,  he  who  claims  knowl- 


The  Tree  of  Knowledge.  121 

edge  must  pay  a  price  for  it.  Is  this  not  al- 
ways life's  refrain  ?  Let  ambition  crave  what 
it  will,  toil  and  self-sacrifice  crowd  the  path 
to  the  prize.  If  won  at  all,  it  is  to  be 
won  by  effort.  In  the  childhood  of  humanity, 
this  effort,  this  labor,  was  called  evil;  and, 
even  to-day,  one  may  often  debate  as  to  whether 
the  good  sought  is  worth  the  price  it  demands. 
He  who  raises  this  question  is  not  likely  to  be 
a  winner  of  prizes.  He  who  studies  limita- 
tions ;  and,  in  fear,  holds  back  powers  to  use 
when  some  possible  contingency  arises,  is 
likely  to  drive  away  the  good  which  nonresist- 
ance  would  permit  to  flow  to  him.  By  the 
exercise  of  this  false  mental  economy  he  creates 
his  own  evils  or  devils,  by  making  his  own 
selfhood,  through  fear,  an  attractive  magnet 
for  those  very  evils.  We  have  made  a  mistake 
in  trying  to  shun  evil,  by  building  up  guards 
against  it ;  for,  by  so  doing,  we  have  made  evil 
the  central  attractive  force  of  the  '*  I  am." 
Whenever  one  tries  to  build  up  defenses 
against  evil,  he  mentally  makes  it  an  entity 
and  gives  it  power.  Long  ago  "Resist  not 
evil,  but  overcome  evil  with  good,'*  was  re- 
garded a  sort  of  moral  command  which  simple 
folk  liked  to  quote  to  one  another  when  the 
offending  one  was  caught.     That    is  not   its 


122  Paths  to  Power. 

meaning.  It  is  rather  an  inspirational  state« 
ment  of  a  great  scientific  truth.  To  resist  evil 
is  like  Don  Quixote,  to  make  battle  with  of- 
fenseless  wind-mills,  and  thereby  to  create  a 
center  around  the  "  I  am  "  for  the  atmosphere 
of  fear.  This  resisting,  therefore,  means  the  de- 
taching of  your  soul,  your  "  I  am,"  from  your 
body,  and  sending  it  forth  through  the  ethers 
to  gather  the  logic  of  a  false  philosophy,  to 
bring  sustenance  and  life  to  the  shadowy  myth 
your  thoughts  have  lifted  into  being.  You 
are  expending  force  on  the  non-being  by  en- 
gaging in  such  fruitless  battles. 

We  have  all  centralized  thought  too  much 
on  the  ways  and  means  of  providing  for  an  ex- 
pected or  dreaded  evil  day  to  come.  We  be- 
lieved we  could  ward  it  off  by  providing  against 
it.  This  has  been,  and  is,  making  life  a  strug- 
gle. History  has  told  us  that  some  one, 
thousands  and  thousands  of  years  ago,  brought 
all  of  this  sin  and  evil  into  the  world  by  first 
being  tempted,  and  then  eating  the  fruit  of  that 
tree  of  knowledge.  Some  historians  went  so 
far  as  to  say  that  Eve  was  not  merely  tempted, 
but  that  she  had  great  curiosity,  great  inquisi- 
tiveness.  They  assert  that  her  downfall,  and 
the  downfall  of  all  mankind,  was  the  outcome 
of  her  individual  curiosity  and  weakness  com- 


The  Tree  of  Knowledge.         123 

bined.  Who  gave  her  that  curiosity,  and  who 
sent  her  forth  as  the  mother  of  mankind  with 
a  weakness  or  vanity  that  would  permit  her  to 
yield  to  temptation?  You  and  I  know  that 
those  historians  were  not  contemporaneous  with 
the  events.  We  know  they  lived  thousands 
of  years  after  the  events  of  which  they  wrote 
could  possibly  have  occurred,  and  that  there  were 
no  authentic  records  to  consult.  You  and  I 
will  refuse  to  accept  a  history  so  unauthen- 
tic. We  could  not  reverence  a  God  who  would 
create  a  temptation,  a  tempter,  and  a  being 
with  a  weakness  or  a  curiosity  to  be  led  to  her 
downfall,  thus  bringing  countless  millions  of 
unborn  souls  into  disrepute.  We  have  tried 
to  interpret  symbolic  language  with  the  logic 
of  conscious  mind.  We  have  failed.  This 
Garden  of  Eden  is  rather  a  mental  state  than  a 
material  inclosure  ;  this  tree  of  knowledge  a 
mental  upreaching  to  the  fulfilment  of  lofty 
ideals,  not  a  fruit-bearing  tree  whose  fruit 
brings  to  those  who  eat  it  inward  cravings  to 
know  and  feel  the  right  and  wrong.  In  th3 
intuitional  light  of  the  new  century,  let  us  seek 
the  grander  meanings  in  these  symbols.  Let 
us  seek  truth,  no  matter  how  many  dogmas 
are  shattered  by  the  revealings  of  such  seek- 
ings. 


124  Paths  to  Power. 

"  Greater  than  earth  is  her  ruler  man, 
Her  master,  sovereign,  since  he  began  ; 
Greater  than  sunlight  that  greets  earth's  youth 
Is  the  wondrous,  fathomless  light  of  Truth." 

I  use  the  word  man  as  sexless  to  repre^ 
sent  humanity  as  a  whole.  Were  I  to  con- 
sider for  a  moment  the  sex  idea  in  the  Adam 
age,  which  age  marked  the  entrance  and  blend- 
ing of  soul  into  material  entities,  I  would  then 
find  the  real  meaning  in  the  symbols  of  the 
Garden  and  the  Tree.  This  entrance  of  soul 
into  physical  entities  was  not  a  downward 
movement,  for  there  is  no  retrogression  in 
the  spiritual  universe,  even  though  poets 
have  sung  of  the  battles  of  angels.  Until  the 
Adam  age,  man  was  not ;  since  then,  the  ages 
slowly  but  surely  have  marked  his  ascent. 
Whittier  grasped  the  truth  and  sang : 

"  Oh,  sometimes  gleams  upon  my  sight 

«  Through  present  wrong,  the  eternal  Right ; 

And  step  by  step  since  time  began, 

We  see  the  steady  gain  of  man." 

Historians  who  wrote  the  record  were  often 
automatic  writers,  such  as  we  have  to-day. 
When  symbolic  language  was  used,  they  were 
merely  the  instruments  to  record  a  soul-lan- 
guage which  even  their  own  logic  could  not 
interpret.     This  record  tells   us    that  woman 


The  Tree  of  Knowledge.         125 

ate  first  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowledge, 
then  brought  and  gave  it  to  her  companion. 
That  part  of  the  record  is  simple  ;  but  their 
logic  could  not  grasp  the  true  purport  of  the 
eating,  because  they  believed  man  to  be  abso* 
lutely  distinct  and  separate  from  God. 

From  the  garden  of  materialism  and  intellec- 
tuality, woman,  typified  by  Eve,  reached  men- 
tally to  the  unknown,  the  unseen,  and  caught 
the  vibrations  of  creative  energy,  only  felt  by 
those  who  may  lift  selfhood  to  the  intuitional 
plane  of  spirit  consciousness.  From  that  re- 
mote period  of  time  to  this  day,  woman  has 
always  been  in  advance  of  man  on  intuitional 
lines  of  soul  communication  with  the  Infinite. 
The  fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowledge,  therefore, 
is  the  material  form  of  expressing  the  thought, 
readily  understood  in  this  age,  of  awakening  to 
spirit  consciousness,  the  realization  of  the  Di- 
vine within  the  human.  When  this  awaken- 
ing came  to  her,  bringing  the  sunlight  of  truth, 
and  showing  her  more  of  the  possibilities  of 
growth  than  thought  had  ever  conceived  of  be- 
fore, she  ran  to  her  companion,  not  with  face 
bowed  with  shame,  but  with  face  radiant  with 
refulgent  light,  to  tell  him  of  the  greater  un- 
foldment  possible.  With  knowledge,  came  its 
responsibilities,  and    the    logic    of    conscious 


126  Paths  to  Power. 

mind  lost  the  true  meaning  of  the  sym- 
bols. 

The  Garden  of  Eden  of  to-day  is  the  youth- 
plane  of  mental  activity,  the  mental  nursery  of 
humanity ;  its  walls,  the  conservative  lines  of 
thought  of  those  who  speak  from  the  record, 
the  scribes  whose  mental  horizon  was  and  is 
bounded  by  the  conclusions  of  those  who  have 
read  much  and  thought  little.  In  this  garden 
or  field,  youth  is  nourished.  His  parents,  his 
teachers,  tell  him  of  those  who  have  lived,  and 
of  their  philosophy.  They  drill  him  on  the 
table  of  figures,  they  teach  him  to  analyze  so- 
called  composites  and  to  find  the  elements  there- 
in blended  in  harmony  ;  they  teach  him  the 
psychology  of  language  and  its  different  forms  ; 
they  introduce  a  wilderness  of  subjects  to 
awaken  mentality  to  vigorous  action.  All  this 
in  the  Garden  of  Eden.  Now,  shall  he,  thus 
equipped,  remain  within  it  ?  Shall  he,  within 
it,  follow  this  path  or  that,  gleaning  truths  or 
knowledge  which  others  have  found  ?  Shall  he 
travel  over  what  he  may  of  these  paths  and  then 
stop  ?    It  will  be  to  him  precisely  as  he  wills. 

If  he  has  grown  weary  of  learning  to  repeat 
truths,  or  conclusions  (not  always  truths)  that 
others  have  spoken;  if  he  yearns  for  the  be- 
yond, he  is  mentally  seeking  to  taste  the  fruit 


The  Tree  of  Knowledge.         127 

of  the  tree  of  knowledge.  Let  him  not  think 
this  craving  is  mere  abnormal  curiosity ;  let  him 
not  think  it  weakness ;  let  him  not  think  it 
temptation.  The  time  is  ripe.  He  has  learned 
his  lesson  on  the  plane  where  the  masses  dwell. 
The  Master  has,  through  vibrations,  advised 
him  of  some  of  his  possibilities,  and,  ringing  in 
his  ears  from  the  unknown,  he  hears  the  com- 
bined command  and  entreaty,  '*  Come  up 
higher ! " 

He  who  knows  he  is  called,  and  he  alone, 
should  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowledge. 
Just  here  it  is  proper  to  add  that  the  call  to 
"  come  up  higher  "  is  made  to  each  and  all ;  and 
yet,  please  note  that  I  affirm  he  only  who 
knows  he  is  called  should  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the 
tree  of  knowledge.  Let  me  put  this  more 
clearly.  Too  many  are  moved  by  the  wishes  of 
parents,  or  friends  surrounding  them,  as  to  what 
particular  fruit  they  should  eat  ot  the  tree  of 
knowledge.  Many  simply  drift  along  seizing, 
as  they  pass^  such  fruit  as  may  fall  in  their 
way.  This  accounts  for  the  great  mass  of 
humanity  which  we  sum  up  as  "  average  intel- 
ligence." Average  intelligence,  to  my  mind, 
means  those  who  reflect  the  machine  drill  of 
the  schools,  combined  with  a  fair  appreciation 
of  the  methods  of  business  regime  as  pursued 


128  Paths  to  Power. 

in  the  mercantile,  manufacturing  and  shipping 
industries  througliout  the  world.  To  eat  from 
the  tree  of  knowledge  means  to  advance  beyond 
this  plane,  whether  one  may  call  it  that  of 
"  average  intelligence,"  or  some  degrees  higher 
or  lower  than  that. 

Napoleon  was  not  merely  a  soldier  when  a 
boy  at  school.  Even  there  he  was  a  leader,  a 
commander,  a  general.  He  created  an  army 
among  his  own  schoolmates,  and  fired  them  with 
ambition  to  be  his  willing  tools.  They  were 
happy  to  be  the  instruments  to  fashion  the 
triumphal  arch  for  him.  The  masses  want 
leaders,  and  find  self-glory  in  extolling  those 
whom  they  have  elected  to  command.  This  is 
right.  It  is  in  accordance  with  universal  law. 
The  leader  heard  the  call  and  accepted  long 
before  those  surrounding  him  ever  imagined  in 
him  the  requirements  of  leadership.  He,  in 
silence,  partook  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowl- 
edge and  waited  in  faith.  The  inspiration  or 
call  he  may  have  held  sacred  in  his  own  mind  ; 
still,  he  knew.  Neither  was  he  anxious  or 
troubled  about  the  offering  of  opportunities; 
he  knew  that  in  the  fulness  of  time  he  could 
create  them. 

The  tree  of  knowledge,  then,  is  the  mental 
or  spirit  plane  beyond  the  traditions  of  history, 


The  Tree  of  Knowledge.         129 

beyond  the  limits  of  the  conclusions  of  the  wise 
and  of  the  sages.  To  seize  its  fruit  requires 
mental  courage  and  daring.  Your  place  on 
that  plane  is  first  known  to  you,  and  to  you 
alone.  The  spirit  voice  that  brings  the  message 
may  startle  your  consciousness,  may  thrill  your 
entire  being,  but  its  words,  its  message  comes 
to  you  alone.  If  you  counsel  with  others  to 
determine  your  action,  you  are  asking  the  logic 
of  conscious  mind  to  help  you  to  interpret  the 
meaning  of  an  intuitional  communication. 
Here  you  can  have  no  advisers.  You  must  go 
in  the  silence  and  communicate  directly  with 
the  Infinite  if  you  would  still  await  direction. 
Many  have  known  when  God  spoke  to  them, 
and  conscious  mind  could  not  bring  a  doubt  to 
disturb.  Again,  many  have  realized  the  mes- 
sage only  as  a  longing;  its  promise  came  to 
their  consciousness  like  a  bright  ray  of  hope- 
light  yet  only  to  make  shadows  deeper.  When 
shall  we  learn  the  meaning  of  "longing?" 
When  shall  we  learn  the  meaning  of  "  man  ?  " 
When  shall  we  learn  the  meaning  of  "  God  ?  " 

**  A  fieiy  mist  and  a  planet, 

A  crystal  and  a  cell  ; 
A  jelly  fish  and  a  saurian, 

And  the  caves  where  the  cave  men  dwell ; 
Then  a  sense  of  law  and  beauty 

And  a  face  turned  from  the  clod — 


I30  Paths  to  Power. 

Some  call  it  Evolution, 
And  others  call  it  God. 

*♦  Like  the  tints  on  a  crescent  sea  beach 

When  the  moon  is  new  and  thin, 
Into  our  hearts  high  yearnings 

Come  welling  and  surging  in — 
Come,  from  the  mystic  ocean, 

Whose  rim  no  foot  has  trod — 
Some  of  us  call  it  Longing, 

And  others  call  it  God. 

"  A  haze  on  the  far  horizon, 

The  infinite  tender  sky. 
The  ripe,  rich  tints  of  the  cornfields, 

And  the  wild  geese  sailing  high  ; 
And  ever  on  upland  and  lowland, 

The  charm  of  the  golden  rod- 
Some  of  us  call  it  Autumn, 

And  others  call  it  God. 

•*  A  picket  frozen  on  duty, 

A  mother  starved  for  her  brood, 
Socrates  drinking  the  hemlock, 

And  Jesus  on  the  rood  ; 
The  million  who,  humble  and  nameless. 

The  straight  hard  pathway  trod — 
Some  call  it  Consecration, 

And  others  call  it  God." 

We  have  found  the  tree  of  knowledge  to 
symbolize  a  mental  plane  beyond  the  confines 
and  limits  of  the  walls  surrounding  the  Garden 
of  Eden,  where  thought  began  its  work  by  learn- 


The  Tree  of  Knowledge.         131 

ing  of  the  thoughts  of  others.  Still  one  may 
ask  :  Why  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and 
evil,  and  whence  arose  the  idea  of  its  bearing  a 
forbidden  fruit?  I  have  followed  a  line  of 
intuitional  reasoning  which  clearly  demon- 
strates to  my  consciousness  that  the  fruit  of  the 
tree  could  not  be  a  forbidden  one.  I  have  en- 
deavored to  illustrate  that  one  is  called  by  the 
Infinite  to  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree.  Let  us 
see  if  we  can  find  the  meaning  of  *'  evil "  as 
here  used,  and  how  the  word  '*  forbidden  "  came 
in.  The  tree  of  knowledge,  representing  an 
advanced  mental  plane,  comprises  within  itself 
all  truth,  all  knowledge,  all  unfoldment.  It  is 
impossible,  or,  to  speak  more  emphatically,  for- 
bidden to  any  one  to  bring  to  his  consciousness 
all  knowledge  during  a  single  incarnation,  even 
though  he  has  learned  the  secret  so  that  he  may 
extend  that  single  incarnation  over  a  thousand 
years.  If  called  (and  I  repeat,  all  are  called), 
and  one  recognizes  the  call,  it  is  to  help  ad- 
vance him  on  one  or  more  of  the  many  special 
lines  of  knowledge.  It  may  be  music,  or  paint- 
ing, or  poetry  ;  it  may  be  teaching,  or  healing  ; 
it  may  be  clairvoyant  vision  ;  it  may  be  inven- 
tive creation ;  it  may  be  this  or  that  leadership  ; 
but  all  knowledge,  all  truth,  all  possible  unfold- 
ment comprises  more  than  infinite  energy  can 


132  Paths  to  Power. 

give  to  any  single  mortal.  That  is  forbidden, 
and  better  still  it  is  unsought.  The  call,  then, 
to  "  come  up  higher "  is  on  lines  clearly  pre- 
sented to  one's  consciousness.  The  "  evil  "  is 
the  sacrifice  one  makes  to  attain  the  good.  He 
who  seeks  his  good  cannot  grasp  the  idle 
pleasures  smiling  near  the  path  to  the  goal.  He 
must  turn  aside  from  these  and  find  his  joy  as 
new  mental  heights  are  reached,  whither  love 
and  ambition  lead  him.  The  chief  evils  that 
beset  him  will  be  the  thoughts  of  others.  Many 
seem  to  think  they  have  the  right  to  dim  or 
crush  the  ideals  of  their  friends.  If  the  seeker 
listen  to  these  counsels  and  these  arguments, 
he  may  be  made  to  feel  that  the  price  he  is 
paying  for  his  good  is  too  great  and  cease  all 
striving.  In  such  case,  evil,  which  his  thought 
fashioned  into  an  entity,  has  overtaken  him. 
He  has  lost  the  purpose  of  living,  because  he 
has  turned  backwards.  It  was  the  mathemat- 
ical genius,  Lewis  Carroll,  who  wrote  "Alice 
in  Wonderland,"  who  discovered  that  *'  evil " 
was  "  live  "  spelled  backwards.  Evil  has  no 
abiding  place  in  the  hearts  and  homes  of  those 
who  really  live. 

Fortunately,  we  live  in  an  age  where  each  is 
believed  to  have  the  right  to  his  own  thoughts. 
They  are  his  private   property  ;  their  conclu- 


The  Tree  of  Knowledge.         133 

sions  are  bis  individuality.  Parents  now  re- 
spect the  thoughts  of  the  child  still  in  the 
nursery ;  and  philosophers  often  stand  amazed 
at  the  bright  thought  thrown  out  by  the  young- 
est in  the  class.  We  have  grown  to  a  better 
understanding  of  man,  and  this  has  given  us  a 
nobler  conception  of  God.  We  know  law  to 
be  universal,  and  that  creative  God  could  not 
have  existence  but  for  law.  The  personality 
of  God  has  faded  from  our  minds  ;  in  its  place 
stands  the  impersonal  thought-energy  of  the 
universe.  From  that  thought-center  come  the 
vibrations  to  our  consciousness,  not  forbidding, 
but  inviting  us  to  partake  of  the  fruit  of  the 
tree  of  knowledge — of  good  and  evil.  Within 
those  vibrations  we  find  the  links  binding  man 
and  God  as  one.  In  silence  the  volume  of 
truth  is  opened  to  us,  and  we  read  the  promise; 
that  our  hopes,  our  ideals  are  the  fruits  freely 
offered  to  us  from  this  center  of  intelligence, 
and  only  waiting  our  reaching  forth,  claiming, 
and  appropriating  our  own. 


CONDITIONS. 

Life  is  made  up  of  a  series  of  preparations 
to  meet  contingencies  or  events  that  are  shad- 
owed or  promised  to  appear  a  little  way  beyond. 
To  prepare  for  these,  youth  devotes  years  to 
study.  The  technic  he  must  be  master  of,  at 
least;  and  schools,  colleges  and  universities 
furnish  him  with  this  equipment.  He  passes 
beyond  their  teaching  to  the  so-called  '*  School 
of  Experience,"  and  there  he  finds  a  wilderness 
of  ideas,  theories,  thoughts,  conclusions,  con- 
fut^ions.  He  questions  if  he  has  provided  him- 
self with  proper  equipment.  One  may  claim 
knowledge  with  bold  statements,  but  when  con- 
fronted with  life's  experiences,  he  often  is 
forced  to  acknowledge  it  to  be  simply  belief  or 
theory.  He  himself  is  brought  to  confess  that 
he,  too,  is  only  an  experimenter  like  others  in 
the  mental  arena  of  life.  The  path  to  the  goal 
he  would  reach  is  made  over  a  series  of  con- 
ditions. Some  have  a  wonderful  faculty  that 
seems  to  bring  these  conditions  about,  others 
seem  to  be  divinely  led  and  deride  individual 

134 


Conditions.  13S 

affort,  ascribing  their  success  solely  to  luck,  or 
to  the  mysterious  unknown  called  Provi- 
dence. 

At  this  period  of  history  in  which  you  and  I 
have  tlie  honor  of  living,  a  gleam  of  light  has 
eome,  a  revelation  to  humanity.  It  is  not  the 
voice  of  prophecy  coming  through  some  single 
human  instrument  to  whom  the  light  was 
brought.  It  is  not  a  dogma  or  theory  of  some 
gect  of  worshipers  of  the  God  of  intellect  w^e 
have  vainly  sought  so  long.  It  is  not  a  reve- 
lation born  in  the  cloisters  of  superstition  and 
fear.  The  gleam  of  light,  the  revelation, 
■ihines  on  humanity  as  a  whole  in  these  opening 
yea,rs  of  the  twentieth  century,  because  humanity 
has  mentally  developed  so  that  it  can  receive 
ihe  vibrations  of  truth  which  have  filled  the 
ethers  of  the  air  for  ages.  Prior  to  this  age, 
along  the  line,  some  few  have  felt  some  of  these 
vibrations,  and  have  left  records  which  required 
this  age  to  interpret.  In  other  words,  man's 
condition — his  mental  condition — is  such  at 
this  time  that  he  can  learn  more  of  himself  and 
his  relations  to  the  entire  cosmos  than  at  any 
previous  period  of  history.  All  may  not,  and 
all  will  not  embrace  the  opportunity  offered; 
still,  to  some  extent,  all  humanity  will  be  in- 
fluenced. 


136  Paths  to  Power. 

To  know  how  to  attain  the  conditions  that 
your  highest  good  may  come  to  you,  is  the  prob- 
lem of  the  age,  is  the  purpose  of  right  living, 
is  the  wish  and  desire  of  the  noblest  and  the 
best.  These  conditions  are  to  be  reached 
through  a  victorious  warfare,  a  warfare  to  be 
waged  against  the  selves.  If  you  are  already 
receiving  the  vibrations  of  truth,  you  have  linked 
yourself  to  the  infinite  energy  of  the  universe  ; 
then,  you  have  always  God  and  yourself  on 
your  side ;  and,  as  an  inspired  writer  has  told 
us,  God  and  one  constitute  a  majority.  Let 
me  add,  they  constitute  an  invincible  army, 
always  on  your  side.  What  are  the  conditions, 
then,  desired?  Those  that  will  enable  you  to 
bind  and  hold  yourself,  through  vibrations,  one 
with  the  infinite  force  of  the  universe. 

Some  theorists  (for  we  have  many  theorists  in 
the  philosophy  of  the  advanced  thought  of  to- 
day) may  tell  you  that  the  way  to  produce  con- 
ditions and  to  constantly  hold  them  is  an  open 
and  clear  one,  easy  to  follow  and  to  keep.  I 
have  not  found  it  so,  neither  have  I  found  any 
one  so  completely  master  of  the  science  that  he 
always  knew.  However  complete  our  knowl- 
edge may  be  in  some  lines  of  research,  there 
are  countless  paths  yet  to  be  trod,  countless 
experiments  yet  to  be  made.     What  I  may  pre* 


Conditions.  137 

sent  to  you  on  this,  or  any  theme,  as  truth,  will 
be  conclusions,  not  deduced  from  theories,  but 
arrived  at  by  repeated  practical  tests. 

That  my  introduction  be  made  complete  be- 
fore our  next  step,  let  us  for  a  moment  recall 
from  our  experiences  some  of  the  messages  we 
have  received  through  clairvoyants  from  our 
spirit  friends  or  spirit  guides.  Whether  entities 
bring  the  messages,  or  they  come  from  infinite 
force  through  vibrations  need  not  be  here  dis- 
cussed. We  are  told  of  some  advancement  or 
joy  in  store  for  us  that  these  forces  are  help- 
ing to  bring ;  sometimes  they  are  more  forcible 
and  say  that  they  will  bring  it  to  us.  In  our 
anxiety  we  ask  when,  and  are  told  as  soon  as 
we  can  be  surrounded  with  the  necessary  or  re- 
quired conditions.  Often  we  have  asked  what 
we  could  do  to  help  to  that  end,  and  about  the 
only  intelligent  reply  or  direction  we  receive  is, 
"  Be  passive.'*  May  there  not  be  a  great  phi- 
losophy in  this  reply  ?  My  subject,  it  will  be 
noted,  will  carry  me  beyond  the  border-land  of 
physical  life,  and  first  a  few  of  what  I  under- 
stand to  be  truth's  accepted  axioms  best  be 
stated.  The  individual  soul  is  firmly  meshed 
in  the  physical  entity,  but  the  life  principle  of 
the  soul  is  far-reaching  and  throbs  through  the 
potent  power  of  the   central  force,  or  creative 


138  Paths  to  Power. 

energy  of  the  universe,  call  it  Tao,  Om,  Being, 
God,  what  you  will !  The  mind  is  the  link, 
linking  soul  with  the  material,  and  soul  with 
the  immaterial  universe,  though  behind  it,  and 
of  itself  a  part,  is  the  great  unseen  entity  of  Be- 
ing. From  mind  emanates  thought,  born  both  of 
the  material  and  immaterial.  Thoughts  produce 
conditions — mental  conditions.  As  thoughts 
spring  from  mind,  and  mind  is  bound  both  to 
the  material  and  immaterial  universe,  they  are 
operated  upon,  not  only  by  material  surround- 
ings, but  by  the  eternal  essence  of  life  found 
in  the  spirit  influence  with  which  it  is  as 
directly  connected,  whether  we  recognize  it  or 
not,  as  with  man's  every-day  self  or  conscious- 
ness. 

In  a  general  way,  the  philosopher  tells  us  to- 
day that  conditions  are  the  outward  manifesta- 
tions of  thought.  To  make  them  what  we  would, 
he  tells  us  to  think  right  thoughts.  With  this 
I  am  in  complete  harmony.  The  problem  is, 
how  to  think  and  hold  right  thoughts.  Few 
of  us  probably  have  ever  gone  into  a  careful 
analysis  and  discovered  that  our  conscious  self 
was  the  chief  opposing  factor  to  our  ideal  self. 
There  is  the  evil  to  overcome,  the  skepticism 
of  the  conscious  or  unreal  selfhood.  Our  ideal 
is   our  nobler,   our  real  selfhood.     Life's  pur- 


Conditions.  139 

pose  is  to  bring  into  visible  existence  or  expres- 
sion this  ideal.  Conscious  self  rises  to  crush 
hope  by  calling  ideals  dreams.  We  live  our 
lives  on  and  between  the  planes  attained  and 
the  planes  desired.  We  long  to  be  what  we  de- 
sire to  be,  but  teachers  have  ever  been  telling 
us  to  be  strong  to  meet  disappointment ;  to  ex- 
pect disappointment  and  to  brave  it.  Their 
philosophy  was  built  on  false  premises.  It  made 
evil  a  potent  force  of  the  universe.  It  had  been 
handed  down  to  them  from  a  generation  that 
had  not  seen  the  light.  Now  we  are  waking 
to  knowledge.  Our  own  intelligences  are  tell- 
ing us  of  man's  oneness  with  God,  with  crea- 
tive energy.  This  knowledge  comes  from  with- 
in. It  comes  from  within,  and  yet  our  real  self- 
hood reaches  beyond  all  the  vibrations  of  matter. 
It  is  at  one  with  all  life,  and  life  is  the  unseeable, 
the  spiritual.  Our  ideals  are  goals  that  are  shown 
us  from  infinite  energy  by  spirit  guides  who 
are  its  instruments  to  lift  us  to  the  place  we 
aspire  to.  To  reach  that  plane,  we  climb  the 
steps  placed  one  upon  the  other  and  called  con- 
ditions. To  reach  a  height  in  a  building,  we 
must  pass  upward  by  successive  stages.  We 
cannot  reach  the  third  floor  of  a  building  with- 
out having  passed  the  second.  To  attain  an 
ideal,  we   construct  a   building ;  the   steps   or 


140  Paths  to  Power. 

floors  leading  to  the  longed-for  treasure  are 
mental  conditions  that  must  be  passed  to  reach 
it.  The  foundation  is  faith.  If  you  accept  the 
philosophy  of  the  thinkers  of  this  age,  you  know 
your  ideals  can  be  realized.  Your  better-self  tells 
you  so,  and  your  spirit  guides  echo  the  thoughts 
or  wishes  of  your  better-self,  and  promise  you 
their  aid.  To  give  you  that  aid,  they  tell  you  the 
conditions  must  be  made  right.  What  can  you 
do,  if  anything,  to  help  make  those  conditions 
right?  Primarily,  you  must  be  in  harmony 
with  the  philosophy,  or  you  cannot  follow  its 
teachings.  I  must  assume  that  you  have  passed 
that  point  in  the  way.  Assuming  that,  you 
start  to  climb  the  heights  between  your  con- 
scious self  and  your  ambition  or  desire,  alone, 
but  not  alone.  If  you  accept  the  philosophy, 
you  know  you  could  not  have  the  fond  desire 
that  has  become  indwelling  in  your  selfhood  un- 
less it  were  attainable.  If  you  are  true  to 
your  selfhood,  you  will  create  an  atmosphere 
about  you  that  will  permit  the  vibrations  from 
infinity  to  reach  you.  With  your  acceptance 
of  the  philosophy  must  come  absolute  faith. 
With  faith  firm,  you  fix  your  eye  upon  the  light, 
and  lo !  the  vibrations  of  infinite  power  reach 
you,  and  the  clairvoyant  might  see  your  spirit 
friends  throng  about  to  aid  you.     You  have 


Conditions.  141 

created  the  conditions  which  made  it  possible 
for  this  force  to  reach  you. 

The  first  step,  then,  to  right  conditions  is 
faith  in  this  philosophy.  Many  claim  to  pos- 
sess it  one  moment,  and  the  next  are  talking  of 
the  *'  ifs  "  their  conscious  selves  are  asking  re- 
specting it.  The  spirit  of  the  age  is  skepticism, 
and  for  this  I  am  glad,  not  sorry.  As  long  as 
religion,  as  generally  taught  over  the  world,  is 
based  upon  faith  and  belief  in  certain  theories 
which  have  been  handed  down  with  veneration 
as  proceeding  from  Being,  so  long  will  faith  and 
belief  continue  to  be  the  will  o'  the  wisp,  elud- 
ing intelligent  comprehension.  If  a  clergyman 
tell  me  there  is  a  great  Being  beyond  all  law, 
sitting  in  the  heavens  and  governing  the  uni- 
verse, and  asks  me  to  believe  it  because  he  so 
asserts,  I  will  ask  his  authority  for  the  state- 
ment. If  he  tells  me  the  Bible,  I  will  reply  I 
do  not  so  understand  it.  He  then  may  tell  me 
I  have  no  right  to  my  interpretation  of  that 
book ;  that  I  must  go  to  others  who  have  inter- 
preted it;  that  I  must  study  their  theories, 
their  dogma.  I  refuse  to  do  this,  and  he  tells 
me  I  sin  because  of  unbelief.  I  do  not  accept 
his  judgment ;  I  claim  he  has  no  right  to  judge — 
I  appeal  to  a  higher  court. 

True  faith  in  anything  is  built  on  experience. 


14^  Paths  to  Power. 

The  experience  of  others  can  only  help  if  you 
can  make  the  proof  by  a  like  experience.  I 
open  my  chemistry,  and  I  read,  "  Sulphuric 
acid  will  dissolve  copper."  That  is  a  state- 
ment; I  may  not  know  whether  it  is  true  or 
not.  In  the  chemical  laboratory  the  student 
must  prove  his  work  no  matter  what  the  books 
say.  He  puts  that  statement  to  the  test,  he 
pours  some  sulphuric  acid  at  high  temperature 
on  copper,  he  watches  the  effect,  the  copper  is 
dissolved  ;  now  he  knows  that  statement  to  be 
true — he  did  not  know  it  before.  There  is  no 
need,  then,  to  tell  him  to  have  faith ;  his  experi- 
ence has  crystallized  faith  that  might  have  been 
waning  into  positive  knowledge. 

The  Old  Testament  came  to  us  in  sections ; 
the  New  Testament  indirectly  through  the 
Greeks,  a  people  of  wonderful  imagery.  The 
theologian  had  the  manuscripts  in  his  keeping 
long  before  the  art  of  printing  made  their  read- 
ing general.  We  may  have  them  in  very  in- 
complete shape ;  still  the  various  books  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testament  show  that  the  writers  of 
them  wrote  of  their  experiences,  of  their  talks 
with  saints,  with  angels,  with  devils,  and  with 
God.  If  they  had  experiences  like  these  re- 
corded, they  had  the  proofs  like  the  student  in 
the  laboratory.     Faith  can  be  firm  if  proofs  are 


Conditions.  143 

furnished.  Assert  as  we  may  without  proofs, 
faith  is  blind  and  unsteadfast.  The  theologian 
tells  us  that  Moses  and  Noah  talked  with  God; 
that  David  learned  from  God  direct  the 
family,  community  and  national  idea ;  that 
Jeremiah  and  Isaiah  were  instructed  by  God  of 
the  mental  resources  of  man,  and  that  Jesus 
held  daily  communion  with  him  ;  but,  he  adds, 
these  experiences  are  obsolete,  they  are  impos- 
sible at  the  present  time.  Here  I  join  issue 
with  him.  If  any  experience  has  been  passed 
through  by  man  at  any  period  of  the  world's 
history,  it  follows  that  a  like  experience  may 
have  been  passed  through  ten  thousand  times 
by  others  before,  and  will  be  repeated  again  and 
again  forever.  The  mental  wave  of  thought  of 
the  opening  years  of  this  century  calls  the  theo- 
logian to  his  proofs.  We  have  learned  some- 
thing of  the  law  governing  conditions.  We 
have  obeyed  the  law,  sometimes  consciously, 
sometimes  subconsciously ;  and,  by  obeying  the 
law,  we  have  had  some  experiences  of  our  own. 
We  have  learned  that  life  is  eternal ;  we  have 
proved  it.  Proved  it  by  experiences  as  patent 
to  intelligence  as  the  experiments  of  the  student 
in  the  laboratory.  Then,  why  have  we  faith  ? 
Because  we  know — know  from  experience. 
Now,  if   the    experience   of  myself,  or  the  ex' 


144  Paths  to  Power. 

perience  of  some  friend  of  yours  bring  within 
you  a  desire  to  know  the  philosophy  on  which 
it  rests,  we  return  to  the  study  of  the  law  of 
conditions.  You  will  note  I  do  not  ask  you  to 
accept  any  theory  built  on  the  dogma  of  tradi- 
tion. The  religion  the  new  century  is  ushering 
in  is  something  grander  than  that.  It  will  re- 
store the  true  meaning  of  the  word  religion,  for 
it  will  bind  the  material  entity  to  the  imma- 
terial essence  from  which  it  emanated.  I  ask 
you  to  seek  to  produce  conditions  that  you 
may  bring  to  your  consciousness  the  proofs  of 
experience. 

What  would  you  ?  To  this  question  human- 
ity replies  :  *'  I  would  attain  my  ideal !  "  First, 
I  ask  you  to  believe  that  you  could  not  have 
the  ideal  if  its  attainment  were  not  possible. 
That  thought  I  want  first  to  fix  in  your  mind  ; 
that  done,  you  have  built  about  you  the  first 
condition  essential.  It  ought  to  be  simple  to  be- 
lieve your  heart's  desire  will  come  to  you.  Let 
us  see.  You  cannot  believe  it  will  not  come  to 
you.  Sit  down  silently  and  ask  this  question 
mentally.  Doubts  you  may  have,  but  you  can- 
not believe  your  good  will  not  come  to  you. 
Having  reached- this  point,  without  a  thought 
of  ways  and  means  to  the  end,  sit  one  half- 
hour   each  day  in  the   silence,   holding  some 


Conditions.  145 

thoughts  you  may  silently  express  in  language 
assertive  of  the  desire  or  longing  sought.  With- 
in a  few  weeks,  possibly  within  a  few  days, 
you  will  find  faith  expanding  and  filling  your 
being.  Seek  the  same  time  each  day,  sit  in  the 
same  room,  sit  in  the  same  chair.  You  do  not 
want  to  concentrate  too  deeply.  It  is  a  con- 
centration akin  to  passiveness  which  I  am  sug- 
gesting. With  faith  firm,  the  light  or  good 
will  stand  out  clear  to  your  mental  vision. 
This  condition  will  surround  your  personality 
with  an  atmosphere  that  wards  off  doubt  and 
its  attendant  evils ;  and  calls  to  you,  through 
vibrations  from  the  central  energy  of  the  uni- 
verse, the  force  that  crj^stallizes  about  you  into 
the  spirit  entities  seen  by  the  clairvoyant.  All 
life's  possibilities  will  then  glow  with  radiant 
light,  and  you  will  retire  from  controversies  and 
the  negatives  of  existence  into  the  delightful  at- 
mosphere of  purpose  fulfilled. 

You  will  note  I  urge  you  not  to  stop  to  deny 
evil.  If  it  is  not,  let  it  rest  in  nothingness. 
In  other  words,  do  not  seek  to  find  the  evil 
about  or  in  j-ou,  and  then  deny  it.  You  call  a 
negative  and  an  exceptional  force  about  you 
by  so  doing.  The  atmosphere  of  attraction  can 
never  be    created  by  shouting    negatives.     A 

bad  structure  might  be  demolished  thereby,  but 
10 


146  Paths  to  Power. 

a  good  one  must  be  built  of  thoughts  that 
fashion  ideal  structures. 

With  the  cross-currents  of  thoughts  dashing 
through  the  ethers  everywhere,  and  with  our 
contact  and  blending  with  divers  atmospheres  in 
our  daily  work,  we  must  call  a  strong  force  from 
the  unseen  to  keep  us  firm,  to  keep  and  hold 
the  conditions  we  would.  We  must  not  note 
too  grievously  our  own  slippings ;  mind  resting 
there  may  overthrow  the  good  work  done. 
"  Be  ye  diligent,"  is  not  a  command  of  Being  ; 
it  is  a  statement  of  the  law.  Why  self-criti- 
cism disturbs  the  conditions  built  up,  and  the 
reason  why  conditions  are  built  up  as  I  have 
outlined,  leads  us  into  the  mystic.  Up  to  this 
point,  I  have  brought  before  you  only  ex- 
periences proven  and  the  lessons  they  teach. 

Now  I  pass  for  a  few  moments,  before  closing, 
over  the  border-line  of  human  knowledge  into 
the  intuitional  breathings,  half-heard,  half- 
revealed,  half-reasoned,  and  my  conclusions 
here  you  may  reject  or  accept,  as  you  please.  1 
have  shown  you  how  to  create  conditions,  and 
have  proved  by  experience  that  that  is  the  way 
to  the  ideal  plane  of  living.  Now,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  border-line  there  is  a  force  we  draw 
on,  seemingly  administered  by  a  host  of  spirit 
entities  who  tell  us,  as  they  may,  of  how  they 


Conditions.  147 

are  trying,  and  how  they  are  helping  us.  When 
the  right  conditions  are  brought  about,  then 
they  tell  us,  realization  will  come.  I  have  sug- 
gested how  you  could  produce  the  right  con- 
ditions on  this  side.  Without  that  aid  from 
you,  their  forces  are  scattered  by  disturbing 
elements  which  you  attract  by  surrounding 
yourself  with  the  atmosphere  of  doubt  and 
fear.  Keep  your  atmosphere  true  by  calling 
right  conditions  and  you  are  not  merely  giving 
aid  to  your  spirit  band,  but  it  may  be  you  are 
enabling  them  to  create  conditions  in  the  spirit 
world  to  bring  new  and  other  forces  in  the  band 
to  bring  direct  to  you  the  vibrations  of  power 
you  need.  You  have  a  work  to  do  on  this  side 
— they  have  a  work  to  do  on  that.  They  are 
so  true  that  they  will  strive  to  help  you,  even 
though  you  are  oblivious  of  them.  They  are 
patient,  they  are  loving;  how  could  it  be 
otherwise,  for  they  are  emanations  from  the 
harmonious  links  of  vibrative  energy  that 
binds  your  soul  to  the  central  force  from  which 
emanates  the  life  principle.  They  link  you  to 
the  supreme  force  of  the  universe  of  which  you 
are  a  part.  They  demonstrate  the  eternal 
oneness  of  life,  and  the  mightiness  of  vibrations 
that  reach  consciousness  through  the  sense  of 
sight  at  one   time,  and  of  hearing  at  another 


148  Paths  to  Power. 

Through  them,  you  speak  to  a  holier  selfhood 
and  learn  of  the  divine  within  seeking  ex- 
pression. Then  will  dawn  on  your  intelligence 
the  realizing  sense  of  the  unity  of  life.  This 
relationship  reveals  your  oneness  with  God. 
You  turn  now  to  Emerson's  ''  Over-soul," 
and  read  understandingly :  "  From  within  or 
from  behind,  a  light  shines  through  us  upon 
things  and  makes  us  aware  that  we  are  nothing, 
but  the  light  is  all.  I,  the  Imperfect,  adore  my 
own  Perfect.  I  am  somehow  receptive  of  tlie 
great  soul,  and  thereby  I  do  overlook  the  sun 
and  the  stars  and  feel  them  to  be  but  the  fair 
accidents  and  effects  which  change  and  pass. 
More  and  more  the  surges  of  everlasting  nature 
enter  unto  me,  and  I  become  public  and  human 
in  my  regards  and  actions.  So  come  I  to  live 
in  thoughts,  and  act  with  energies  which  are 
immortal." 

You  may  then  read  these  words  and  feel 
their  truth.  You  will  have  placed  yourself 
in  harmony  with  the  law  of  life.  Resting  on 
it,  you  conform  your  advancement  to  its  require- 
ments ;  and  you  come  into  communion  and 
fellowship  with  the  impersonal — the  only — • 
the  omniscient,  omnipresent,  omnipotent  God. 


FAITH. 

Faith  is  the  key  that  unlocks  the  treasure 
house  of  the  universe.  This  is  a  conclusion 
which  may  be  rightly  drawn  from  each  and 
every  religion  that  has  ever  been  handed  down 
to  man.  This  is  a  single  kernel  of  truth  they 
all  contain.  The  path  to  the  end  is  through 
the  gateway  of  faith.  If  the  faith  be  absolute, 
the  result  will  come — note  carefully,  please,  if 
the  faith  be  absolute,  the  result  will  come, 
whether  it  be  a  blind  or  an  intelligent  faith. 
If  one  accepts  this  statement  as  to  the  omnipo- 
tence of  faith,  its  attainment  must  be  the  secret 
of  power.  Blind  faith  is  essentially  spasmodic. 
If  built  on  either  the  experiences  of  others,  or 
the  beliefs  of  others,  doubts,  which  may  be 
called  destroyers  of  power,  are  as  certain  to 
arise  as  environment  changes,  as  the  sun  in 
heaven  is  certain  to  shine.  The  theologian  has 
himself  accepted  the  philosophy  of  others ;  he 
asks  his  listeners  to  do  the  same.  Doubtless 
he  is  honest;  but  because  a  man  is  honest 
does  not  mean  that  he  is  right.  Willingness 
on  the  part  of  the  individual,  even  desire  on 

149 


1 50  Paths  to  Power. 

his  part  to  accept  the  philosophy  of  the  theo- 
logian, may  not  suffice  to  permit  it. 

Youth  is  bold  in  his  undertakings.  He  is 
not  fettered  by  the  wisdom  of  the  wise  or  the 
experiences  of  the  past.  His  refusal  to  permit 
these  fetters  to  bind  him  has  made  advance  and 
progress  possible.  The  wise  glory  in  his  spirit, 
and  even  the  scribes,  steeped  in  the  accepted 
lore  of  the  ages,  are  amazed  at  beholding  the 
new  truths  he  brings  to  light.  The  cause  of 
youth's  daring  has  been  almost  universally  as- 
cribed to  his  want  of  experience.  Perhaps  the 
cause  is  not  the  want  of  something,  but  the 
actual  possession  of  something  never  dreamed 
of  by  the  bookworms  of  research. 

To  be  clear  as  to  the  path  to  the  temple  of 
intelligent  faith,  I  must  draw  the  line  between 
it  and  blind  faith.  Widely  as  they  may  differ, 
as  day  and  night  do  differ,  one,  like  day  and 
night,  blends  into  the  other  at  times,  so  that 
the  dividing  line  is  lost  in  the  mist  of  uncer- 
tainty. If  we  would  found  our  faith  so  that  it 
will  stand  forever,  it  must  be  founded  on  actual 
knowledge.  Belief  is  only  experimental,  the 
test  laboratory,  where,  from  the  alembic,  tested, 
tried  and  proven,  must  come  the  faith  that  never 
fails. 

Facts    concerning  external  things  may   be 


Faith.  151 

brought  me  in  divers  ways.  I  may  glean  much 
information  from  the  experiences  of  others. 
Knowledge,  however,  cannot  be  brought  to  any 
one  by  another ;  it  is  the  fruit  of  experience. 

The  statements  of  others,  the  suggestions  of 
others  may  point  the  way  to  knowledge.  Our 
faith  in  tliem  may  lead  us  to  make  the  tests ; 
but,  through  tlie  school  of  experience  each  must 
go  to  gain  the  knowledge  he  craves.  It  is  true 
our  faith  in  the  unseen  will  reach  beyond  the 
known  ;  it  can  only  be  intelligent  and  steadfast 
when  its  foundation  pillars  rest  on  the  crystal- 
lized thought-boulders  hewn  out  in  the  broad 
laboratory  of  personal  experience. 

To  know  how  to  live,  how  to  make  the  best 
use  of  one's  half-awakened  faculties,  one  must 
learn  how  to  connect  himself,  so  as  to  draw 
power  from  the  infinite  source  of  power.  If 
the  infinite  source  of  power  is  a  somewhat  capri- 
cious personality,  resting  in  some  sphere  in  the 
heavens,  to  which  one  only  gains  access  by 
humbling  himself  and  begging ;  let  us  learn 
how  to  humiliate  ourselves  and  how  to  beg,  to 
gain  the  favors  we  desire.  If  theology  has 
not  found  truth,  I  must  seek  it  elsewhere.  It 
is  my  right  to  know.  I  could  not  have  the 
longing  for  truth  unless  it  were  possible  I  may 
attain  it.     I  look  for  the  pillars  on  which  rest 


152  Paths  to  Power. 

the  foundations  of  the  religions  of  the  western 
world.  I  find  them  chiefly  to  be  the  conclusions 
of  the  devout  followers  who  have  studied  the 
faiths  of  others.  Their  temple  of  belief  rests 
then  on  a  foundation  of  belief.  Instead  of 
actual  knowledge  as  a  foundation  stone,  I  find 
a  theory.  Let  this  satisfy  whom  it  will,  it  does 
not  satisfy  me. 

Four  hundred  years  ago  only,  the  church  de- 
clared the  Bible  a  safe  guide,  even  on  all  scien- 
tific questions.  Then  only  a  few  dared  to  think 
on  independent  lines ;  the  clergy  claimed  to 
hold  the  keys  to  all  knowledge.  The  first  chap- 
ter of  Genesis  was  interpreted  most  literally. 
This  Earth  was  the  center  of  a  system  called 
the  universe.  Sun,  and  moon,  and  stars,  and 
planets  were  but  the  attendants  of  our  little 
planet,  a  flat  surface  of  land  and  water  resting 
on  strange  foundations  wild  imagination  had 
conceived.  All  this  was  called  truth  once,  and 
he  who  dared  think  otherwise  and  give  expres- 
sion to  his  thought  must  go  to  prison.  At  that 
period  of  history  the  miracles  of  the  Bible  were 
interpreted  literally  ;  to  refuse  to  believe  them 
were  heresy  and  sin,  exposing  one  to  dire  physi- 
cal tortures.  Belief  was  then  a  thing  to  be 
forced  into  one  by  torture.  The  Romish  Church 
does  not  like  to  be  told  to-day  how  it  attempted 


Faith.  153 

to  fetter  and  bind  the  thoughts  of  Galileo  and 
Kepler,  who  only  begged  a  hearing  for 
truth. 

Within  the  past  century,  the  scientist  found 
every  religious  body  arrayed  against  him  as  he 
first  told  the  story  of  evolution.  The  geologist 
found  history  written  in  the  rocks,  but  many 
preachers  declared  that  when  God  made  those 
rocks  He  might  have  placed  on  them  such  marks 
as  He  pleased.  When  the  geologist  went  so  far 
as  to  claim  to  possess  proofs  to  show  that  the 
days  of  creation  were  each  a  series  of  years  or 
ages,  then  one  was,  even  within  my  memory,  dis- 
missed from  the  chair  he  occupied  in  one  of  our 
denominational  colleges.  If  these  facts  prove 
anything,  they  prove  that  our  western  religious 
bodies,  at  least,  have  not  been  seekers  for  truth ; 
but  rather  bands  or  societies  standing  in  the 
support  of  some  dogma  handed  down  to  them 
from  some  remote  period  of  history,  and  called 
sacred  because  of  its  age.  Old  lamps  may 
sometimes  be  better  than  new  ones,  old  violins 
are  often  priceless  ;  but,  old  faiths  will  not  be 
revered  in  this  age  of  the  world,  simply  be- 
cause of  their  antiquity.  .  The  child  of  the  last 
quarter  of  the  past  century  will  ask  the  mental 
pillars  on  which  it  rests  be  shown  him.  Does 
the  foundation  rest  on  the  known  ?    If  the  f oun- 


154  Paths  to  Power. 

dation  stands  on  a  wavering  belief,  the  faith 
can  never  be  firm. 

Many  of  our  advanced  thinkers  of  this  period 
of  history,  who  know  the  truths  vibrating 
through  the  glorious  mentality  that  fills  the 
ethers  of  the  air,  in  their  effort  to  lead  others  to 
the  light,  have  implied  or  half  said  to  those  seek- 
ing knowledge,  you  may  carry  your  old  beliefs 
with  you.  They  have  done  this  in  the  utmost 
kindness  of  heart,  expecting  knowledge  would 
later  dissipate  those  errors  of  belief.  I  cannot 
agree  with  them  that  it  is  the  best  way.  I  cannot 
favor  that  one  enter  the  laboratory  to  seek  truths 
by  the  tests  of  experience,  fettered  and  shackled 
with  the  weight  of  ancient  beliefs  he  feels  he 
must  uphold  and  defend.  Better  he  wait  a 
little,  wait  till  he  can  come  in  a  negative  or 
passive  state,  but  come  filled  with  a  noble  desire 
to  learn  the  truth.  Let  us  be  honest.  If  we 
have  proved  that  the  ideas  held  by  the  the- 
ologian of  God  and  man  and  salvation  are  wrong, 
let  us  boldly  put  forth  our  proofs.  The  relation- 
ship between  God  and  man  must  determine 
everything.  If  God  is  beyond  all  law,  if  He 
can  change  it  when  He  wills,  if  He  is  to  be 
appealed  to  by  man  in  prayer  for  aid  which 
He  may  grant  or  not,  but  what  He  may  do  no 
rule   can  determine ;  if  all  this  be  true,  why. 


Faith.  155 

man  can  only  wait  and  pray,  hope  and  fear,  and 
win  or  fail.  God's  favor  may  be  sought;  still 
man  must  be  content  to  accept  what  the  the- 
ologian calls  God's  will.  Where  did  the  the- 
ologian get  all  this  from  ?  From  the  records 
containing  the  beliefs  and  the  supposed  beliefs 
of  others.  Let  us  say  frankly  to  all  that  we 
don't  believe  the  theologian's  conclusions  as  to 
the  relationsliip  between  man  and  God.  Then 
let  us  state,  not  our  beliefs,  but  some  of  the  facts 
we  have  proven. 

If  all  power  comes  from  God,  we  must  learn 
how  to  appropriate  that  power,  hence  the  re- 
lationship must  be  learned.  Laotze,  long  before 
the  coming  of  Jesus,  saw  the  light.  What  was 
truth  as  to  the  true  relationship  between  God 
and  man  twenty-five  hundred  years  ago  is  true 
to-day.  Truth  is  eternal.  It  may  be  well  to 
note  just  here  that  a  philosophy  built  on  belief 
may  not  be  essentially  erroneous.  The  belief 
might  be  true.  I  only  claim  that  belief  is  an 
unsafe  foundation  stone.  In  the  case  of  the 
modern  theologian,  I  do,  however,  go  further 
and  claim  that  his  philosophy  does  not  express 
the  true  relationship  between  man  and  God,  or 
Being.  I  recognize  how  the  church  may  be  a 
moral  power  in  the  land,  how  wisely  it  may 
distribute  charity,  and  how  much  it  has  done 


156  Paths  to  Power. 

by  founding  institutions  of  learning  for  the 
education  and  elevation  of  man.  Though  tliat 
service  has  been  and  is  great,  intelligence 
broadened  now  seeks  its  widest  field  of  activity. 
On  the  threshold  of  a  new  century  it  stands 
looking  into  the  unknown  for  light.  It  wishes 
to  carry  on  its  upward  march  no  burdens,  no 
false  beliefs  which  it  is  bound  to  bear  and  up- 
hold. 

Years  ago  I  made  a  careful  examination  into 
some  remarkable  cases  of  chronic  diseases 
alleged  to  have  been  cured  by  Christian,  and 
mental  scientists.  Several  of  these  cures  had 
been  brought  about,  as  claimed,  by  absent  treat- 
ment. In  many  of  these  investigations.  I  had 
with  me  a  physician  who  was  a  professor  in  a 
prominent  medical  college,  a  thorough  skeptic 
on  the  possibility  of  mind's  eradicating  any 
organic  disease,  found  by  diagnosis,  seated  in  the 
system.  I  marveled  at  the  result,  of  our  in- 
vestigation— he  was  astounded,  and  threw  up 
his  hands,  saying :  "  Are  we  doctors  utterly 
ignorant  of  the  cause  and  cure  of  disease  ? " 
That  question  of  his  I  left  unanswered.  It, 
however,  took  a  great  hold  on  me.  Unsettled 
I  knew  the  science  of  medicine  to  be  as  to 
foundation  pillars.  In  fact,  the  best  and  wisest 
physicians  have  declared  over  and  over  again  that 


Faith.  157 

the  modern  system  of  medication  is  empiricism. 
Is  disease  a  delusion?  1  asked.  Absent  treat- 
ments, found  effective  by  proofs,  I  must  accept, 
became  to  me  a  subject  of  absorbing  interest. 
The  giver  of  these  entered  the  domain  of  the 
subtle  field  of  telepathy.  I  read  again  the  mar- 
velous stories  from  Cicero  to  Flammarion  of  how 
mind  had  spoken  to  mind;  and,  then,  in  the 
silence,  sought  to  learn  the  philosophy,  the 
truth.  I  awoke  to  it,  and  found  we  had  been 
speaking  in  monosyllabic  sentences,  since  man 
has  kept  a  record  of  events,  truths  we  did  not 
recognize.  All  life's  unity  is  expressed  in  God 
IS  All.  The  theologian  had  declared  man  was 
created  in  the  image  of  God,  and  then,  in  theory 
and  in  fact,  broke  the  unity  and  blending  by 
also  declaring  that  man  was  in  rebellion  against 
God's  law.  When  the  truth  dawned  on  me,  I 
knew  that  the  central  energy  of  the  life  principle 
must  be  the  central  energy  of  the  universe. 
That,  through  vibrations,  all  life  was  one,  and 
that  these  bound  all  existence  to  action.  All 
attraction,  of  every  nature,  found  its  expression 
in  vibrations.  Could  we  but  place  ourselves 
in  harmony  with  the  thought  we  would,  our 
vibrations  of  health  and  warning  and  love  and 
power  must  be  felt  whither  we  might  send 
them. 


158  Paths  to  Power. 

The  light  came  to  me  in  the  silence.  That 
light  was  then  but  little  more  than  a  suggestion, 
a  belief.  I  have  made  many  tests  since,  and 
now  it  has  become  to  me  a  philosophy.  It 
brought  me  to  understand  Laotze  and  Eastern 
thought.  It  taught  me  the  true  cause  of  these 
remarkable  cures  by  both  present  and  absent 
treatment.  It  told  me  of  the  law  of  vibrations 
proving  the  facts  of  telepathy.  Let  me  relate 
one  or  two  recorded  incidents  of  telepathy 
cited  by  Flammarion  in  his  "  Urania.'' 

From  an  old  volume  of  Cicero,  written  over 
2000  years  ago,  this  story  is  taken :  "  Two 
friends  arrived  at  Megara  and  put  up  at  separate 
lodgings.  One  of  them  had  hardly  fallen  asleep 
when  he  saw  his  traveling  companion  before 
him,  who  said  to  him  with  a  tragic  air  that  his 
host  had  formed  a  plan  to  assassinate  him,  beg- 
ging him  at  the  same  time  to  go  as  quickly  as 
possible  to  his  assistance.  The  other  awoke,  but 
convinced  that  he  had  been  deceived  by  a  dream, 
he  soon  fell  asleep  again.  His  friend  appeared 
to  him  anew,  and  entreated  him  to  hasten,  as 
the  murderers  had  just  entered  his  room.  Much 
troubled,  he  could  not  help  feeling  surprised  at 
the  persistence  of  the  dream,  and  was  inclined 
to  go  to  the  help  of  his  friend ;  but  reason  and 
fatigue  finally  prevailed,  and  he  lay  down  agaiuc 


Faith.  159 

Then  his  friend  appeared  to  him  a  third  time, 
pale,  bleeding,  disfigured.  *  Unhappy  man,* 
he  said  to  him,  '  you  would  not  come  to  me 
when  I  implored  you.  It  is  too  late  to  help  me 
now  ;  all  that  remains  is  to  avenge  me  !  Go  at 
sunrise  to  the  gate  of  the  city.  You  will  meet 
there  a  cart  laden  with  manure  ;  stop  it,  and 
order  it  to  be  unloaded ;  you  will  find  my  body 
concealed  in  it.  Render  me  the  honor  of  burial ; 
seek  out  my  murderers  and  punish  them.'  Per- 
sistence so  determined,  details  so  minute  allowed 
of  no  more  hesitation.  The  friend  arose, 
hastened  to  the  gate  indicated,  and  overtook  and 
stopped  the  driver,  who,  surprised,  made  no  at- 
tempt at  resistance,  and  the  body  of  the  mur- 
dered man  was  at  once  discovered  concealed  in 
the  cart." 

Agrippa  d'Auzigne  gives  an  account  of  an 
historical  event  at  the  time  of  the  death  of  the 
Cardinal  of  Lorraine,  well  authenticated  in 
every  way :  *'  The  King  being  at  Avignon,  on 
the  23d  day  of  December,  1574,  Chailes,  Car- 
dinal of  Lorraine,  died  there.  The  Queen, 
Catharine  de  Medicis,  retired  to  rest  earlier  than 
usual,  having  at  her  coucher,  among  other  dis- 
tinguished persons,  the  King  of  Navarre,  the 
Archbishop  of  Lyons,  Madame  de  Ritz,  Madame 
de  Liornerolles  and  Madame  de  Sannes.     Two 


i6o  Paths  to  Power. 

of  these  ladies  have  vouched  for  the  truth  of 
this  account.  As  the  Queen  was  bidding  them 
good  night,  she  threw  herself  back  on  her  pillow 
with  a  shudder,covering  her  face  with  her  hands ; 
and  with  a  violent  cry  called  those  present  to 
her  assistance,  at  the  same  time  pointing  out  to 
them  the  Cardinal,  who  stood  at  the  foot  of  the 
bed,  holding  out  his  hand.  She  cried  out  sev- 
eral times,  *  My  Lord  Cardinal,  I  have  nothing  to 
do  with  you.'  The  King  of  Navarre  immedi- 
ately sent  a  gentleman  of  his  suite  to  the  lodg- 
ings of  the  Cardinal,  who  brought  back  word 
that  the  Cardinal  had  at  that  moment  ex- 
pired." 

Some  years  ago  a  society  was  organized  in 
England  for  the  particular  purpose  of  studying 
this  phenomena  ;  and  it  is  called  the  "  Society  of 
Psychical  Research."  Its  President  is  Professor 
Balfour  Stewart  of  the  Royal  Society  of  London, 
and  associated  with  him  are  the  most  illustrious 
savants  of  England.  This  society  has  made 
several  important  publications  of  phenomena 
under  the  general  title  of  Telepathy,  having 
first  made  rigorous  investigations  as  to  the 
evidence  in  each  case.  Camille  Flammarion  in 
"  Urania"  cites  several,  from  which  I  select: 

"  In  the  following  case  observed  recently,  the 
witness  was  as  wide  awake  as  you  or  I  are  at 


Faith.  i6i 

this  moment.  The  person  in  question  is  a  cer- 
tain Mr.  Robert  Bee,  living  at  Wigan,  England. 
Here  is  a  curious  revelation  written  by  the 
observer  himself. 

"  *  On  the  18th  of  December,  1873,  I  went 
with  my  wife  to  visit  her  family  at  Southport, 
leaving  both  my  parents,  to  all  appearance,  in 
perfect  health.  On  the  following  day,  in  the 
afternoon,  taking  a  walk  by  the  seashore,  I  was 
seized  with  so  profound  a  melancholy  that  it 
was  impossible  for  me  to  interest  myself  in  any- 
thing, so  that  we  made  no  delay  in  returning  to 
the  house. 

" '  Suddenly  my  wife,  showing  some  uneasi- 
ness, said  that  she  would  go  to  her  mother's 
room  for  a  few  minutes.  A  moment  later  I 
myself  arose  from  the  sofa  and  went  to  the 
parlor. 

" '  A  lady,  dressed  as  if  she  were  going  out, 
approached  me,  coming  from  the  neighboring 
bedroom.  I  did  not  remark  her  features  as  her 
face  was  not  turned  toward  me.  I  immediately 
addressed  her,  but  I  do  not  remember  what  I 
said. 

"  *  At  the  same  instant,  and  while  she  was  in 

front  of  me,  my  wife  returned  from  her  mother's 

room  and  passed  just  by  the  place  where  the 

lady  stood  without   appearing  to  observe  her. 

II 


i62  Paths  to  Power. 

I  exclaimed  in  surprise :  '  Who  is  that  lady, 
whom  you  now  just  passed  by  without  notic- 
ing her  ? ' 

*'  *  I  have  passed  nobody/  replied  my  wife, 
still  more  astonished  than  I  was — '  What ! ' 
returned  I,  *  you  did  not  see  a  lady  just  now,  who 
stood  a  moment  since  exactly  where  you  are 
standing  ?  She  came  out  of  your  mother's  room 
and  must  now  be  in  the  vestibule.* 

*'  *  It  is  impossible,'  answered  she,  *  there  is 
absolutely  no  one  in  the  house  but  my  mother 
and  ourselves.' 

" '  In  fact  no  stranger  had  been  there  and  tho 
search  which  we  made  at  once  showed  no  other 
result. 

"  *  It  was  then  three  minutes  of  eight  o'clock 
in  the  moaning.  The  next  morning  a  telegram 
announced  to  us  the  sudden  death  of  my  mother, 
from  heart  disease,  precisely  at  the  same  hour. 
She  was  in  the  street  at  the  time,  dressed 
exactly  like  the  stranger  who  had  passed  before 
me.' " 

Such  is  the  recital  of  an  eye-witness.  Inves- 
tigations made  by  the  Society  for  Psychical 
Research  have  demonstrated  conclusively  the 
authenticity  of  the  testimony.  How  is  it  to  be 
explained  ?     Still  another  case  : 

•'  Mr.  Frederick  Wingfield,  living  at  Bell  Isle 


Faith.  163 

en  Terre  (Cotes-du-Nord),  wrote  that  on  the 
25th  day  of  March,  1880,  having  gone  to  bed 
late,  after  having  spent  a  part  of  the  evening 
reading,  he  dreamed  that  his  brother,  living  in 
the  County  of  Essex,  England,  was  sitting  be- 
side him  ;  but  that,  instead  of  answering  a  ques- 
tion which  he  addressed  him,  he  shook  his  head, 
arose  from  the  chair  and  went  away.  The  im- 
pression had  been  so  vivid  that  the  narrator 
sprang,  half  asleep,  from  his  bed  and  called  to 
his  brother. 

"  Three  days  afterwards  he  received  the  news 
that  his  brother  had  been  killed  by  a  fall  from 
his  horse  on  the  same  day,  the  25th  of  March, 
at  half-past  eight  in  the  evening,  a  few  hours 
before  the  dream  occurred  which  has  just  been 
related. 

"An  investigation  proved  that  the  date  of 
this  death  was  as  is  given,  and  that  the  author 
of  this  recital  had  written  down  his  dream  in  a 
memorandum  book  when  it  occurred,  and  not 
afterwards." 

In  his  work  on  '*  Phenomena  of  Magic,"  pub- 
lished in  1864,  Gougenot  Mousseaux  relates 
the  following  fact,  which  he  certified  to  be 
authentic. 

"  Sir  Robert  Bruce,  of  the  illustrious  Scotch 
family  of  that  name,  was  second  officer  on  board 


164  Paths  to  Power. 

a  vessel.  One  day,  while  nearing  Newfound, 
land,  as  he  was  making  his  calculations,  he 
fancied  he  saw  the  captain  seated  at  his  desk ; 
but  on  looking  with  attention,  he  found  it  was 
a  stranger,  whose  gaze,  fixed  coldly  on  him, 
astonished  him  greatly.  The  captain,  whom  he 
met  when  he  returned  to  the  deck,  noticed  the 
look  of  astonishment,  and  asked  what  it 
meant. 

" '  But  who,  then,  is  at  your  desk  ? '  said  Bruce 
to  him. 

*' » No  one.' 

**  *  Yes,  there  is  some  one  there  ;  is  he  a 
stranger  ? — and  how  did  he  come  there  ?  ' 

"  *  You  are  dreaming — or  you  jest?* 

"  *  Not  at  all ;  will  you  come  down  and  see  ? ' 

"  They  went  down  to  the  cabin,  but  no  one 
was  sitting  at  the  desk.  They  made  search 
throughout  the  vessel ;  but  no  stranger  was  to 
be  found. 

"  *  The  man  I  saw,  however,  was  writing  on 
your  slate  ;  his  writing  must  be  there  still,' 
said  Bruce. 

"  They  looked  at  the  slate  ;  these  words  were 
written  on  it — *  Steer  to  the  Northwest.' 

"  *  But  this  is  written  by  you  or  some  one  on 
board,  is  it  not  ? ' 

"*No.' 


Faith.  165 

"  Each  one  in  turn  was  requested  to  write 
the  same  sentence ;  but  no  one's  handwriting 
resembled  that  on  the  slate. 

*'  *  Well,  let  us  follow  the  advice  given  by 
these  words ;  steer  the  ship  to  the  northwest  ; 
the  wind  is  good,  and  will  permit  us  to  try  the 
experiment.* 

"  Three  hours  later  the  man  on  the  look-out 
signaled  an  iceberg,  and  they  saw  close  to  it  a 
vessel  disabled  and  crowded  with  people,  bound 
for  Liverpool  from  Quebec.  The  passengers 
were  taken  on  board  Bruce's  vessel  by  the  life- 
boats. At  the  moment  when  one  of  the  men 
was  going  on  board  the  vessel  which  had  res- 
cued them,  Bruce  started  back,  greatly  agitated. 
He  had  recognized  the  stranger  whom  he  had 
seen  writing  the  words  on  the  slate.  He  told 
the  captain  this  new  incident. 

" '  Will  you  oblige  me  by  writing  Steer  to 
the  Northwest  on  this  slate  ?  '  said  the  captain 
to  the  newcomer,  presenting  to  him  the  side 
that  had  no  writing  on  it. 

"  The  stranger  wrote  the  words  as  he  was 
requested. 

"  '  Well,  do  you  acknowledge  that  to  be  writ- 
ten by  you  ?  *  said  the  captain,  struck  with  the 
identity  of  the  writing. 

"  *  Why,  you  have  seen  me  write  it  !     How 


1 66  Paths  to  Power. 

could  it  be  possible  for  you  to  have  any  doubt 
about  it?' 

"  For  sole  response,  the  captain  turned  the 
other  side  of  the  slate  up  and  the  stranger 
stood  confounded  to  see  his  own  handwriting 
on  both  sides  of  it. 

"  '  Had  you  dreamed  that  you  wrote  on  this 
slate,'  said  the  captain  of  the  wrecked  vessel 
to  the  man  who  had  just  written  on  the  slate. 

" '  Not  at  all ;  I  have  no  recollection  of  it.' 

*'  *  What  was  the  passenger  doing  at  midday? ' 
said  the  captain  to  the  captain  of  the  disabled 
vessel,  whom  he  had  rescued. 

'*  *  As  he  was  very  tired,  he  was  sleeping 
soundly.  As  nearly  as  I  can  recollect,  it  was 
shortly  before  midday.  An  hour  afterward, 
at  the  most,  he  awoke  and  said  to  me  :  '  Cap- 
tain, we  shall  be  saved  this  very  day  ! '  adding  : 
'  I  dreamed  that  I  was  on  board  a  ship  that 
had  come  to  our  rescue.'  He  described  the 
vessel  and  its  rigging,  and  it  was  with  great 
surprise  that  we  recognized  your  vessel  as  you 
came  toward  us,  from  the  exactness  of  the 
description.  Finally  the  passenger  said  in  his 
turn  :  *  What  seems  strange  to  me  is  that  every- 
thing here  appears  familiar  to  me,  and  yet  1 
was  never  here  before.'  " 

Telepathy   is  now   practised  by  many.     To 


Faith.  167 

master  its  pliilosophy  will  be  more  than  an  in- 
telligent triumph  ;  it  will  be  man's  awakening 
to  immortal  truth,  to  the  continuity  of  life,  to 
the  meaning  of  vibrative  mysteries,  and  to  the 
eternity  of  being. 

From  the  life  of  Swedenborg,  Flammarion 
quotes :  "  On  the  18th  of  July,  1759,  return- 
ing from  England,  this  savant  landed  at  Got- 
tenburg,  and  went  to  dine  at  the  house  of  a 
certain  William  Costel,  where  many  guests 
were  assembled.  At  six  o'clock  in  the  eve- 
ning, Swedenborg,  who  had  gone  out,  returned 
to  the  drawing-room,  pale  and  in  great  con- 
sternation, telling  them  that  a  fire  had  just 
broken  out  in  Stockholm  in  the  Sudermolm,  in 
the  street  on  which  he  lived,  and  that  the  flames 
were  spreading  rapidly  toward  his  house.  He 
went  out  again  and  returned,  lamenting  that 
the  house  of  one  of  his  friends  had  been  burnt  to 
ashes  and  that  his  own  house  was  in  the  great- 
est danger.  At  eight  o'clock,  after  having  gone 
out  a  third  time,  he  exclaimed  joyfully :  '  Thank 
God !  the  fire  has  been  extinguished  at  the 
third  house  from  mine.'  " 

I  knew  I  could  not  call  the  multiplied  cures 
I  had  investigated  "  happenings,"  nor  these  and 
other  astounding  proofs  of  telepathy  as  remark- 
able "coincidents."     There  must  be  a  law  con- 


1 68  Paths  to  Power. 

trolling  all.  That  law  is  perceived  when  one 
comprehends  the  true  relationship  between  God 
and  man.  You  and  I  may  never  completely 
learn  it ;  yet  we  can  learn  all  of  it  we  may  be 
able  to  appropriate ;  and  that  is  all  we  can  use. 
If,  then,  we  are  bound  to  Being,  the  great 
impersonal  energy  of  the  universe,  and  we 
seek  the  fulfilment  of  desire,  let  us  not  doubt 
or  fear ;  but  place  ourselves  in  harmonious  vi- 
brations with  infinite  force,  claiming  our  own. 
Ways  and  methods  of  doing  this  may  differ. 
Experiments  are  yet  to  be  tried.  If  you  have 
succeeded  in  bringing  to  your  consciousness 
knowledge  of  the  true  relationship  between 
yourself  and  Being,  your  foundation  is  secure. 
I  succeeded  through  the  paths  of  which  I  have 
advised  you.  They  brought  me  to  know  some- 
thing of  the  powers  within  our  own  selfhoods. 
Go  in  the  silence,  if  you  are  disturbed  or  doubt- 
ful, and  when  belief  dawns,  prove  it  truth  by 
the  tests  of  experience.  The  Rosicrucians 
understood  how  to  appropriate  from  the  soul- 
reservoir  ;  but  their  language  will  often  seem 
confusing  to  the  logic  of  conscious  mind.  If 
you  are  in  earnest,  you  will  find  the  way, 
through  vibrations,  to  the  central  force  of  the 
universe  ;  because,  from  it,  come  the  pulsations 
of  the  life  principle.     Ways  to  attain  one's  de- 


Faith.  169 

sires  may  and  will  present  problems  from  time 
to  time ;  yet  the  way  starts  through  harmonious 
vibrations.  In  seeking  them,  there  is  uplift- 
ment;  new  paths  must  open,  leading  often  to 
richer  treasures  than  desire  could  picture  or 
conceive. 

"  There  is  no  great  and  no  small 
To  the  soul  that  maketh  all  : 
And  where  it  cometh  all  things  are ; 
And  it  cometh  everywhere." 


BACK  OF  VIBRATIONS. 

Back  of  vibrations,  what  ?  Vibrative  force 
gives  density  and  form  to  all  matter.  By 
vibrations  between  the  atoms  of  stone,  or  wood, 
or  metals,  is  hardness  and  strength  maintained. 
When  vibrations  between  the  atoms  of  wood  in 
a  chair  or  table  cease,  these  atoms  fall  apart 
and  the  piece  of  furniture  crumbles.  Thought 
vibrations  reach  out  from  the  individual  and 
revert  back,  giving  action  to  life  and  energy  to 
being.  All  attraction  is  vibrative  action  and 
this  force  holds  worlds  in  space  and  controls  thd 
movements  of  the  universe.  All  life's  forces 
find  their  expression  in  vibrations.  When,  in 
any  form  of  matter,  vibration  between  the  atoms 
cease,  it  shows  change,  usually  called  death  or 
destruction.  Still,  the  atoms  remain ;  they 
have  sought  a  new  form  of  matter  to  give  ex- 
pression to  their  endless  life,  and  there  their 
ceaseless  vibrations  are  going  steadily  forward, 
forever  and  forever.  With  these  atoms  there  is 
no  time  or  rest. 

To  the  All,  the  Source,  the  mighty  Center, 
170 


Back  of  Vibrations.  171 

intelligence  may  not  spring  with  a  single  bound. 
All  the  links  in  the  chain  must  be  grasped. 
Back  of  vibrations  lies  the  energy  directing 
their  expression.  The  student  in  advanced 
thought  who  has  learned  the  magic  power  of 
atmosphere  and  the  secret  of  how  to  control  it, 
has  passed  the  gateway  leading  to  the  avenue 
of  supply  through  vibrations  from  infinite 
force,  by  creating  the  atmosphere  of  attraction. 
He  has  called  power  to  himself  tlu-ough  spirit 
law.  Strong  as  this  makes  him,  he  would  go 
nearer  the  Source.  If,  after  creating  correct 
atmosphere,  he  knows  how  to  call,  through 
vibrations,  what  he  would,  be  it  health  or  youth, 
success  or  power,  wealth  or  fame,  he  now  finds 
within  himself  a  mighty  desire  to  throw  out  to 
others  some  of  his  possessions. 

Just  here  it  is  but  fair  to  state  that  many 
have  been  doing  this  noble  work  most  un- 
selfishly— often  succeeding,  often  failing.  Some- 
times they  have  been  full  of  encouragement ; 
sometimes  full  of  doubt.  When  meeting  others 
who  have  long  been  identified  with  this  labor 
of  love,  often  they  have  given  expression  to  their 
experiences  with:  "Have  we  really  a  science 
after  all?  "  They  turn  to  an  exact  science  like 
mathematics,  and  observe  that  there  the  law  is 
always  unfailing.     They  may  say,  I  sat  for  such 


172  Paths  to  Power. 

a  one,  and  immediately  he  felt  the  vibrations  of 
health  ;  for  another,  and  the  bad  habit  (so  called) 
of  years  of  yielding  was  overcome.  Then  again, 
just  as  diligently,  just  as  confidently,  I  tried 
and  failed — failed  utterly.  If  a  science,  where 
is  the  trouble,  is  asked  almost  in  despair.  Let 
us  see. 

Mathematics  has  been  cited  as  an  exact 
science.  For  all  that,  even  though  we  follow 
the  rule  (the  law)  we  may  make  errors  in  our 
figures  ;  then,  we  find  our  answer  wrong.  We 
attempt  the  proof  and  it  fails.  Here  we  may 
have  followed  the  law  rightly,  but  a  single 
error  in  multiplying  or  dividing  brought  us  a 
wrong  result.  The  science  is  not  less  exact, 
because  of  our  error. 

Now,  in  spiritual  science  there  is  much  ex- 
perimenting. The  unity  of  life  is  partly 
grasped,  and  the  enthusiastic  student,  in  his 
noble  purpose  of  doing  good,  rushes  into  the 
field  not  half  prepared.  Possibly  he  has  not 
paused  to  think  how  sacred  a  thing  is  mental 
treatment  for  the  overcoming  in  another  of  er- 
roneous beliefs  in  sickness,  or  disposition,  or 
environment,  or  poverty,  or  fear. 

To  learn  formulas,  to  seek  the  right  word, 
to  assert  truth,  are  all  good  preliminary  exer- 
cises to  ^uiet  conscious  mind,  and  help  one  to 


Back  of  Vibrations.  173 

appreciate  the  mighty  force  bound  up  in  his 
own  atmosphere.  Until  he  goes  through  the 
discipline  (whether  it  may  take  months,  or 
years  and  years)  so  that  by  an  act,  a  word,  he 
surrounds  himself  with  the  atmosphere  required 
to  connect  with  the  vibrations  he  would,  for  the 
particular  case  in  question, — until  he  is  able  to 
do  all  this,  I  say,  he  is  an  experimenter  in 
thought's  kingdom  of  power.  I  have  known 
some  who  have  accomplished  wonders  in  heal- 
ing, who,  at  times,  give  way  to  violent  anger 
and  sarcasm.  Imagine  one  undertaking  a  treat- 
ment immediately  after  having  been  the  princi- 
pal in  such  a  controversy. 

I  do  believe  in  the  parting  of  ways.  As  one 
advances  in  the  spiritual  philosophy  of  this  age, 
he  is  sure  to  find  new  and  congenial  friends. 
There  are  friends  that  were,  whom  he  must 
leave  behind.  Not  even  a  single  argument  is 
required  for  this  parting.  You  may  reach  out 
your  hand  with  a  smile  to  him  and  firmly  say  : 
**  This  is  my  way— yours  seems  other."  Don't 
even  affirm  that  it  is  different  from  yours — it 
seems  to  be.  When  you  know  your  "  I  am," 
and  can  claim  understandingly  the  power  you 
would,  you  may,  in  the  silence,  talk  truth  with 
him.  With  a  full  comprehension  of  the  real 
source  of  vibrations,  you  may  even  pierce  an- 


174  Paths  to  Power. 

other's  atmosphere  in  spite  of  the  barriers  he 
may  have  erected. 

Now,  with  whatever  school  you  may  class  your- 
self, you  know  that  in  harmonious  vibrations  is 
healthful  existence  for  every  form  of  matter. 
Let  a  foreign  force  appear.  It  may  be  the  con- 
stant dripping  of  water  on  a  single  point  of  a 
beam  of  wood  in  a  building.  Notice  the  effect. 
This  new  force  is  foreign  to  the  wood.  For  a 
time,  the  force  of  the  vibrations  in  the  atoms  of 
the  wood  resists  this  foreign  element,  demanding 
recognition.  If,  however,  this  new  force  is  con- 
tinued, a  question  of  power  between  atomic 
vibrations  arises.  If  those  of  the  wood  begin 
to  yield,  then  harmony  is  disturbed  ;  and  sooner 
or  later  the  beam,  weakened  by  loss  of  atoms,  is 
broken  by  the  weight  depending  upon  it  for 
support.  Thought  vibrations  through  the  ethers 
are  in  many  respects  more  subtle  than  those  be- 
tween atoms  in  solids,  though,  in  many  respects, 
we  find  great  similarity.  To  bring  health  vi- 
brations to  one,  we  must  connect  him  through 
vibrations  with  infinite  force.  This  connec- 
tion may  be  made  direct,  or  we  may  send 
them  to  him  by  receiving  them  first  ourselves. 
It  often  seems  to  me  that  this  philosophy  of 
vibrations  has  not  received  the  attention  it 
merits  from  mental  healers  generally.     Only 


Back  of  Vibrations.  175 

through  vibrations  can  mind  speak  to  mind. 
Mind  is  the  sole  link  between  the  earth  (or  con- 
scious) self  and  the  real  self  or  spirit.  It  is  the 
sole  link,  therefore,  between  the  real  self  of  an- 
other and  the  infinite  force  of  the  universe  you 
would  call  to  that  other.  Now,  the  force  or 
energy  back  of  these  vibrations. 

Before  we  call  on  that,  however,  let  us  review 
a  little  to  see  that  we  have  learned  our  lesson 
right.  We  have  a  purpose  to  accomplish,  and 
that  purpose  we  know,  let  us  say,  to  be  the 
good  of  another.  We  want  to  reach  that  other's 
real  self.  We  know  the  way — we  must  first  fix 
our  atmosphere  in  order  to  call  to  us  the  vibra- 
tions we  would.  We  may  have  to  penetrate  a 
mental  wall  built  up  by  his  atmosphere  of  doubt, 
of  prejudice,  of  error,  of  superstition.  Then,  to 
accomplish  this,  we  must  mentally  call  to  our- 
selves almost  a  magic  force.  We  must  be  the 
instrument  to  give  intensity  to  vibrations  from 
Infinity.  If  we  can  learn  the  energy  on  which 
they  depend,  why  not  appropriate  from  it? 
Without  this,  our  labor  is  in  vain ;  with  it, 
consciously  exercised,  no  failure  can  ever  come. 

Do  you  see  the  purpose  of  this  philosophy  of 
vibrations  now  ?  Many,  not  understandingly, 
have  followed  it  and  won.  They  were  sub- 
consciously directed.     Again,  therefore,  they 


176  Paths  to  Power. 

often  tried  and  failed.  All  through  ignorance 
of  the  law.  They  have  formulas  and  methods, 
yet  the  law  underlying  was  never  learned. 
But,  like  the  young,  inexperienced  assay er  who 
has  never  taken  a  thorough  course  in  chemistry 
and  mineralogy,  they  find,  foreign  elements 
often  render  formulas  inoperative. 

With  a  clear  understanding  of  the  relation- 
ship between  one's  atmosphere  and  infinite 
vibrations,  the  force  back  of  vibrations  becomes 
apparent.  How  often  have  you  spoken  the 
word  that  names  it  flippantly !  Its  name  is  em- 
blazoned on  every  form  of  inanimate  or  animate 
life.  Atoms  vibrate  because  of  its  mighty  en- 
ergy; men  and  nations  bow  to  its  controlling 
force,  and  the  universe  in  space  keeps  rhythmic 
time  through  the  dictates  of  this  invisible  di- 
rector of  all.  Ages  ago  it  was  named.  It  is 
the  crowning  force  of  nature  ;  it  has  been  called 
the  greatest  thing  in  the  world — it  is  the  open- 
ing thought  of  life — it  is  the  sweetest  memory 
of  existence — its  halo  is  divine — its  breathing 
is  inspiration.  This  mighty  entity  called  Love, 
then,  in  its  purest  and  highest  sense,  is  not 
merely  a  sentiment  expressing  mutuality  of  at- 
traction between  individuals.  It  is  the  vital 
force  on  which  the  entire  cosmos  rests.  Love 
is  the  force  that,  by  its  attractive  power,  awakens 


Back  of  Vibrations.  177 

the  ego  to  its  possibilities  in  the  accomplish- 
ment of  purpose.  Behind  the  throne  of  all 
vibrative  action  it  stands,  for  Law  and  Love  are 
one.  To  know  its  voice  is  to  catch  the  whis- 
pers of  inspiration — to  heed  its  warning  is  to 
walk  in  the  light. 

The  Rosicrucians  knew  it  and  sang :  "  God 
is  Love,  and  God  is  Law,  and  we  are  Law ;  and 
God  and  Love  and  Law  are  One,  and  we  are 
Love,  and  we  are  One,  and  we  are  God."  The 
Rosicrucians  knew  that  mind,  through  thought 
and  the  spoken  word,  produced  the  vibrations 
linking  God  (the  cause)  to  man  (the  effect). 
They  also  knew  and  understood  that  this  blend- 
ing proved  the  eternal  oneness  of  power.  Emer- 
son, in  the  silence,  learned  the  truth  and  wrote  : 
"  There  is  no  bar  or  wall  to  the  soul,  where 
man,  the  effect,  ceases,  and  God,  the  cause, 
begins." 

This  oneness  is  primarily  recognized  by  all 
advanced  thinkers,  and  also  that  all  power  comes 
from  appropriating  God  of  whose  oneness  we 
are.  All  of  us  are  a  unit  as  to  the  philosophy ; 
but  in  its  application  some  confusion  has 
arisen.  In  our  efforts  to  appropriate  health, 
joy,  power,  wealth,  success,  we,  to  say  the 
least,  have  often  experienced  disappointments. 
Over  and  over  again  must  the  road  be  traveled 

12 


178  Paths  to  Power. 

to  find  our  errors.  Our  purpose  is  to  link  the 
effect  with  the  cause  consciously.  They  blend 
through  vibrations,  and  vibrations  coming  from 
the  cause  must  reach  the  effect  if  perfect  con- 
nection between  the  two  are  made.  The  effect 
must  make  the  connection,  and  its  atmosphere  is 
the  link  to  connect  through  vibrations.  Make 
your  atmosphere  true.  Your  thought  and  your 
spoken  word  determine  your  atmosphere.  Both 
must  be  at  one,  and  always  remain  at  one,  with 
your  purpose  and  desire.  No  matter  how  much 
money  you  have  in  your  bank,  you  must  fill  out 
your  check  and  properly  sign  it  before  you  can 
connect  with  the  bank  so  as  to  make  use  of  any 
of  the  money  you  have  there.  You,  the  effect, 
in  life's  throbbing  realm,  must  connect  with  the 
Infinite,  the  cause,  or  its  supply  (boundless 
though  it  be,  and  free  to  all)  can  never  reach 
your  consciousness.  You  (your  conscious  self) 
must  recognize  the  oneness  of  life  to  connect 
with  the  supply.  Recognizing  that,  you  know 
your  right  to  call  for  the  fulfilment  of  your  de- 
sire. Desire  is  Love's  message  to  your  con- 
scious self,  advising  what  is  yours  to  claim  and 
to  possess. 

You  will  note  here  the  illustration  just  cited. 
The  fact  that  you  have  money  in  the  bank  is 
most  important  if  you  have  need  of  it.     There 


Back  of  Vibrations.  179 

is  the  supply,  and  there  is  a  way  to  avail  your- 
self of  it.  Still,  because  you  have  money  in 
the  bank,  you  cannot  go  to  the  paying  teller 
and  simply  say :  '*  Give  me  this,  or  that  sum." 
Such  a  demand  he  cannot  and  will  not  recognize. 
You  must  present  a  check  or  draft,  properly 
drawn  and  signed.  Mental  laws  are  as  fixed  as 
laws  pertaining  to  banking.  Indeed,  they  are 
more  firmly  fixed,  because  there  is  no  one  to 
take  the  responsibility  of  an  over-sight  or  omis- 
sion here  or  there.  The  effect,  by  study  of 
the  cause,  and  by  a  constant  upreaching  to  it, 
blends  itself  with  the  cause  and  proves  and 
establishes  its  fatherhood,  and  its  oneness  with 
creative  energy. 

Here  it  is  seen  that  our  destiny  is  absolutely 
within  our  own  keeping.  Love  speaks  through 
desire  what  may  be  our  conscious  possession. 
Then,  let  us  rejoice  and  fear  not,  for  the  way  is 
open  and  clear. 

"Thy  faith  has  made  thee  whole,"  is  the 
epitome  of  the  philosophy  I  have  herein  been 
presenting.  Through  faith,  correct  atmosphere 
is  established  to  connect  one  (the  effect)  with 
vibrations  from  the  Infinite  or  impersonal  cause  ; 
then  Love  can  send  its  supply,  be  it  what  it 
may,  because  the  way  is  open. 

Blind  faith  has  over  and  over  again,  through 


i8o  Paths  to  Power. 

the  action  of  the  unfailing,  inevitable  law, 
brought  the  supply.  In  this  age  of  active 
mentality,  however,  there  can  be  nothing  of 
steadfastness  in  blind  faith,  in  faith  without 
knowledge.  When  the  theologian  tells  us  of 
the  miraculous  power  of  faith  and  the  need  of 
cultivating  it,  does  he  not  fail,  in  the  dogma  he 
presents,  to  satisfy  our  intelligences  why  we 
should  have  faith  that  our  requests  will  be 
granted  by  that  capricious  God  in  the  skies  ? 
The  same  theologian  tells  us,  *'  Our  way  may 
not  be  God's  way."  He,  to  my  intelligence,  at 
least,  has  made  an  absolute  separation  between 
the  cause  and  the  effect,  so  that  such  a  blend- 
ingas  our  philosophy  recognizes  were  impossible. 
He  assumes  man  born  in  sin,  and  in  rebellion 
against  God's  laws.  In  short,  I  do  not  accept 
his  dogma,  and  I  do  not  believe  in  humiliating 
the  divine  in  man  by  repeating  responses  like  : 
"Have  mercy  upon  me,  a  miserable  sinner." 
The  philosophy  which  is  herein  presented  is 
founded  upon  the  eternal  oneness  of  life.  To 
connect  our  true  self  with  the  cause  (Infinity), 
thought  must  be  centered,  not  upon  the  material 
selfhood,  but  upon  the  divine  in  the  human  that 
always  was  and  always  is  ;  this  brings  the  real, 
the  invisible,  to  our  consciousness. 

If  I  can  present  some  of  the  truth,  showing 


Back  of  Vibrations.  i8i 

the  links  in  the  chain  from  cause  to  effect  in 
a  way  to  help  any  one  of  you  to  a  clearer  con- 
ception of  the  path  to  the  supply,  then  your 
faith  must  increase.  Your  faith  made  abso- 
lutely perfect,  you  are  one  with  God  in  all 
things.  Who  of  us  will  ever  attain  that 
height  ?  No  matter  whether  we  ever  reach  it 
or  not,  let  us  rejoice  that  it  is  attainable,  and 
that  every  step  upward  means  a  grander  life  to 
each  of  us.  Therefore,  let  us  firmly  assert  our 
divinity,  knowing,  as  we  do  so,  that  thereby  we 
are  binding  ourselves  to  the  source,  and  open- 
ing and  clearing  the  channel  of  supply  from 
the  great  impersonal  It  of  the  universe  to  our 
individual  selfhood. 

Herein,  I  have  shown  mind  to  be  the  sole 
link  between  selfhood  and  its  source,  the  im- 
personal cause ;  and  vibrations  from  the  cause, 
the  method  of  receiving  what  one  would, 
from  the  cause  containing  the  supply.  Next, 
I  have  shown  that  atmosphere,  formed  by 
thought  and  the  spoken  word  (combined)  is 
the  instrument  connecting  mind  at  this  end 
with  cause  at  the  other  end  of  the  line.  You 
have  only  to  make  the  connection  at  this  end ; 
that  is  all  there  is  for  you,  your  conscious  self, 
to  do.  Some  hour  kept  sacred  in  the  day  for 
daily  sittings  in  the  silence,  is  the  best  way  to 


i82  Paths  to  Power. 

free  your  atmosphere  from  doubt,  fear,  and 
superstition,  and  to  tone  it  to  receive  the  breath- 
ings from  the  invisible  divine  selfhood  whose 
throbbings  are  struggling  to  reach  your  con- 
sciousness. These  daily  sittings  will  throw 
lightness  and  brightness  over  the  entire  day. 
In  the  midst  of  hurried  debates  on  business 
questions,  you  will  stop  for  a  moment  to  receive 
the  pulsations  from  the  infinite  source — clear- 
ness of  vision  will  come,  compelling  right  ac- 
tion— you  will  recognize  a  higher  selfhood  solv- 
ing the  intricate  and  perplexing  problems — you 
may  consciously  travel  with  thought  wherever 
it  goes,  and  life's  grand  unity  will  lose  all  its 
mystery.  Then  faith  will  be  triumphant,  for 
you  will  have  blended  cause  with  effect,  and 
you  will  not  simply  believe  but  know  the  one- 
ness of  all  life. 

The  greatest  of  students  and  experimenters 
in  material  science  have  with  one  voice  sub- 
stantially declared :  "  Experimental  research  but 
brings  us  at  last  face  to  face  with  an  infinite 
and  eternal  Energy  from  Avhich  all  things  pro- 
ceed and  to  which  all  are  related."  This  eternal 
Energy  we  have  found  to  be  back  of  vibrations, 
and  have  called  it  Love.  Still,  Love  and  Law 
and  Energy  and  God  are  one.  There  is  the 
cause;  and  man,  the  effect,  can  never  wholly 


Back  of  Vibrations.  183 

separate  himself  from  the  cause,  for  in  it  centers 
the  life  principal.  Man  (the  effect),  however, 
ma}^  surround  himself  with  such  an  atmosphere 
as  to  practically  cut  himself  off  from  the  supply, 
which  would  fill  and  satisfy  every  nohle  de- 
sire of  the  mind.  Our  philosophy  asks  no 
blind  faith ;  a  superficial  glance  at  progress, 
at  humanity  as  a  whole,  proves  its  truth.  New 
tests  are  asked,  and  they  w^ill  furnish  new 
proofs.     Follow  up  your  own  proofs. 

As  you  reach  back  to  cause,  and  find  its 
fountain  head ;  and,  as  you  recognize  that  noble 
desire  (even  though  it  may  be  mingled  with  am- 
bitious purposes)  is  Love's  message  to  you  tell- 
ing of  what  is  waiting  your  call  in  her  mighty 
storehouse  of  supply,  then  you  will  have  grasped 
the  secret  of  existence,  and  you  will  know  the 
meaning  of  the  fatherhood  of  God. 

♦'  What  do  you  wish  most  ?    Peace  in  your  heart, 
That  you  may  give  others,  and  ease  every  smart — 
Every  sting  of  Dame  Fortune  that  hides  a  sharp  dart 
Your  love  would  ward  off.     What  then  is  your  part  ? 

*'  To  call  Love  to  yourself  from  the  air — from  the  All, 
Believe  that  it  comes  and  Love  answers  the  call, 
From  Love  universal  not  the  least  child  can  fall- 
Love  shelters  each  one,  we  are  one  with  the  AIL 

*'  Hope  never  is  dead,  tho'  we  stifle  it  oft', 

And  call  shadows  about  that  come  not  from  aloft ; 


184  Paths  to  Power. 

it  abideth  within  close  to  Love— fair  and  soft 
Doth  she  show  her  face,  when  we  have  doffed — 

*'  Our  burdens — our  shadows — our  griefs  and  our  pains 
And  come  forth  in  glory,  and  free  from  all  stains 
That  we  fancied  must  ever  be  ours,  despite  rains 
Of  tears,  and  of  penitence — these  Love  disdains. 

"  Love  wants  only  Love,  and  she  claimeth  her  own, 
When  freed  in  the  heart  that  to  power  has  grown ; 
She  shows  that  no  blessing,  no  treasure  has  flown, 
She  heeds  not  the  reaping,  knowing  how  she  has  sown, 

"  "Weary  heart,  rest  awhile,  learn  to  be  still, 
Seeking  thine  own,  and  uplifting  thy  will — 
To  join  forces  with  truth,  banish  visions  of  ill, 
And  faith  then  shall  warm  thee  with  life's  loving  thrill/ 


WASTED  ENERGY. 

Were  it  possible  for  us  to  make  a  calculatioD 
as  to  the  material  forces  in  the  universe  which 
are  taken  advantage  of  for  the  purposes  intend- 
ed, and  the  material  forces  in  the  universe  that 
go  to  waste,  the  footing  would  be  alarming. 
Everywhere,  in  the  material  universe,  force  is 
wasted.  It  has  been  particularly  noted  in  charg- 
ing the  secondary  or  storage  battery  in  our 
electrical  appliances.  It  is  possible  we  do  not 
know  how  fully  to  measure  the  wasted  force, 
but  everywhere  the  inventor  is  trying  his  best 
to  improve  on  the  inventions  we  have,  to  save 
it.  It  is  not  so  much  a  part  of  the  inventor  to 
increase  or  add  to  power ;  it  is  rather  his  part 
to  economize  and  save  from  waste. 

In  the  mental  realm,  all  agree  that  worry 
and  anxiety  fetter  and  bind — that  worry  and 
anxiety  waste  the  life  force — that  worry  and 
anxiety  add  a  burden  of  years — that  worry  and 
anxiety  are  the  rocks  on  which  the  gathered 
force  of  intellect  is  broken  ;  and  worry  and  anx- 
iety are  born  of  fear. 

i8s 


i86  Paths  to  Power. 

As  in  the  material  so  in  the  mental  world, 
the  economic  question  of  the  day  is  how 
to  conserve  energy,  how  to  use  the  force  with- 
in ourselves,  how  to  prevent  waste,  with  its 
alarming  train  classified  as  mental  wrecks.  In 
a  general  way,  the  scholar,  the  philosopher,  the 
thoughtful  man  admits  force  is  wasted,  as  force 
is  scattered ;  but  all  his  life  seems  to  imply 
this  must  be,  and  he  goes  on  in  the  same  old 
way,  though  possibly  admitting  he  will  take  the 
better  way  when  it  is  shown  him.  With  the 
philosophy  we  claim  as  ours,  (though  both  old 
and  new)  the  problem  of  right  living  is  solved 
when  one  knows  how  to  stop  the  waste,  to  use 
force  only  to  ends  desired,  to  dictate  the  central 
points  on  which  it  shall  be  directed,  to  be  un- 
erring, because  he  does  not  guess,  because  he 
knows.  The  philosophy  of  the  new  century, 
in  which  we  are  in  harmony,  calls  for  concen- 
tration of  effort.  This  must  be  attained.  Envi- 
ronment's walls  are  seemingly  very  formidable, 
and  must  be  broken  down  if  they  restrain  and 
do  not  protect.  If  we  were  to  succumb  to  envi- 
ronment's forces,  or  if  we  were  to  allow  the  phil- 
osophy that  has  been  deduced  by  some  from  the 
experiences  of  the  past  to  guide  us,  there  is  little 
growth  possible.  We  must  rise  above  a  reason* 
ing  from  premises  that  were  assumed   as   true 


Wasted  Energy.  187 

under  an  erroneous  philosophy  ;  we  must  revo- 
lutionize the  trend  of  thought  for  ages,  if  we 
would  know  and  conserve  the  mighty  force  with- 
in our  control. 

Some  of  the  paths  to  power,  as  my  experi- 
ments have  demonstrated,  have  been  pointed 
out  in  the  series  of  papers  going  before.  His- 
torical examples  have  also  been  cited  to  prove 
my  position  true  ;  and  now  we  come  to  review, 
condense,  absorb  and  make  practical  the  method 
to  conserve  energy  and  make  use,  as  far  as  our 
requirements  may  demand,  of  the  real  or  divine 
force  of  the  universe. 

In  order  to  do  this,  it  is  best  we  pause  at  the 
threshold  and  note  the  errors  in  the  philosophy 
that  has  directed  man  for  so  many  ages.  Let 
us  prove  a  philosophy  erroneous  rather  than 
simply  declare  it  so.  Let  us  see  if  it  is  not 
evident  to  every  thinking  mind  that  it  is  erro- 
neous. Then  let  us  look  for  our  proofs  as  to 
why  the  new  is  true.  The  student  must  have 
reached  this  point,  or  he  is  not  in  a  position  to 
advance,  according  to  the  plan  herein  given. 
Optimism  is  a  sweeter  philosophy  than  pessim- 
ism, but  we  only  want  the  true.  Unless  the 
optimism  I  present  to  you  is  true,  it  cannot  en- 
dure. If  true,  it  means  unfoldment  to  grasp  it, 
it  means  advancement  to  practise  it,  it  means 


1 88  Paths  to  Power. 

happiness  to  live  it,  it  means  purpose  fulfilled 
when  one  has  made  himself  one  with  it. 

Back  in  the  history  of  man,  back  of  all  his- 
torical records  ;  and,  I  might  add,  long  after  they 
began,  might,  not  justice,  was  the  ruling  force 
with  nations   and   with  men.     Under  such   a 
regime,  the  weak  grew  to  fear  the  more  power- 
ful ;  physical  strength  among  men  and  people 
and  tribes  and  nations  stood  as  the  representa- 
tion  of  power.     Mentality   had   its   childhood 
then,  and  its  first  proofs  of   power  came   when 
the  few  overcame  the  many  in  repeated  battles  ; 
when  skill  and  planning,  not  physical  strength 
or  numbers,  won  the  victory.     To  the  warrior, 
priding  himself  on   his  physical   strength,  the 
shock  must  have  been  astounding.     He  could 
not  understand  nor  interpret  the  new  force  just 
appearing.     His   mentality    only   grasped   the 
power  in  numbers  and  strength.     Time  passed 
on,  the  more  intelligent  grew  to  be  advisers  and 
leaders,  and  became  chiefs,  or  kings,  or  priests. 
The  more  mystery   they   could  surround   their 
power    with,    to    the    masses    who    look    to 
leaders,   the   more   permanent   might    be  that 
power.     Some  claimed  wisdom  from  the  stars 
in  the   heavens ;  others   had   it   told   them   in 
dreams;  others  by  unseen  beings   with  whom 
they  held  converse.     All  taught,  as  far  as  his- 


Wasted  Energy.  189 

tory  at  this  dim  period  may  tell  us,  the  danger 
of  the  masses  not  following  the  leaders'  de- 
crees. They  ruled  by  fear.  There  might  be 
reward  for  obeying,  but  there  was  always  de- 
struction and  death  for  disobeying.  In  short, 
history  clearly  shows  that  the  so-called  learned 
in  the  early  ages  did  not  strive  to  distribute  their 
knowledge.  They  hoarded  it  for  power  ;  they 
taught  the  more  ignorant  to  fear.  By  and  by 
ecclesiasticism  came  forward  in  Egypt,  and  by 
the  decrees  of  its  priests,  lovely  girls,  possess- 
ing youth  and  beauty  and  virtue,  were  burned 
alive  under  their  orders,  to  appease  the  angry 
gods.  Under  such  conditions — even  through 
the  opposition  of  those  whose  mentality  had  ex- 
panded to  some  extent — grew,  step  by  step,  the 
power  of  human  thought.  Then  can  one  ques- 
tion why  fear  became  almost  an  integral  part  of 
being — why  it  has  played  so  formidable  part  in 
hampering  man's  progress  ?  From  the  Jeho- 
vahs,  mentally  conceived  by  the  priests  of  an- 
cient religions,  came  the  mandate  *  Thou  shalt 
not*  The  Jewish  Jehovah  was  a  centralized 
unity  of  Egyptian  pantheism  whose  commands 
were  the  negatives  of  forbidding.  Hurriedly  re- 
calling all  this,  need  we  wonder  more  why  fear 
still  fetters   the   ascent   of    man  ?    And  yet, 


1 90  Paths  to  Power. 

growth  is  fairly  defined  hy  saying  it  means  the 
overcoming  of  fear. 

Our  ancestors  huilt  castles  on  mountain  tops, 
only  accessible  over  a  single  drawbridge  which 
could  be  drawn  up  and  the  narrow  pass  guarded 
by  a  small  force.  Intellect  invented  gunpowder 
and  engines  of  war  that  can  hurl  death's  missiles 
for  miles  and  miles.  Safety  of  the  individual  is 
now  not  in  guarded  fortifications ;  they  failed  to 
protect,  and  a  mightier  force  rose  preeminent, 
and  rights  of  property  and  person  found  protec- 
tion, even  with  nations  at  war  with  each  other. 
Law — the  unseen— became  triumphant.  Law, 
the  outgrowth  of  centralized  intelligence,  strove 
to  reflect  the  law  of  Being  intuition  disclosed, 
The  Rosicrucians  were  intuitional  mental  giants, 
and  they  sang  of  the  blending  of  law  and  God  and 
man.  Love  of  law,  and  love  of  God,  and  love  of 
man,  (where  fear  held  place  before)  in  this  age 
rise  in  the  human  heart.  Under  that  set  of  vi- 
brations, there  is  no  abiding  place  for  fear.  No 
shackles  of  fear  restrain  now  the  investigations  of 
man  in  his  approach  to  truth.  No  religious  dog- 
mas can  hold  him;  tortures,  their  advocates  can 
no  longer  inflict,  and  ridicule  and  ostracism  are 
but  weak  weapons  that  turn  into  boomerangs, 
when  hurled  by  ignorance  at  the  honest  investi- 
gator of  the  depth  of  the  far-reaching  tendrils  of 


Wasted  Energy.  191 

law.  Coke  wrote,  ''  Law  is  the  golden  chain 
that  binds  the  universe  to  the  throne  of  God." 
Coke  was  orthodox,  and  yet  he  saw  the  blend- 
ing ;  had  he  gone  a  step  further,  he  might  have 
rightly  said  that  in  its  entirety,  law  is  complete 
justice,  and  justice  is  absolute  right,  and  on  that 
throne  (one  in  its  interlacing)  sits  Principle  01 
Energy — the  center  of  the  universe — the  im- 
personal God. 

I  have  tried  to  illustrate  by  the  facts  of  his 
tory  the  reason  why  fear  became  so  formidable, 
why  it  was  nurtured  by  the  leaders,  and  why 
in  the  battle  of  intellect  for  power,  it  always 
had  this  foe  to  overcome.  With  all  the  triumphs 
of  thought,  of  mentality,  this  demon  fear  is 
not  yet  dead.  When  he  passes  into  nothingness, 
the  Nirvana,  or  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  will 
be  won.  His  complete  overthrow  is  as  certain 
as  it  is  certain  that  the  sun  will  rise  on  a  day 
when  truth  shall  have  dispelled  all  error.  Man 
must  progress  to  this  point.  One  after  another 
will  learn  to  eradicate  fear  from  his  consciousness 
Leaders  have  lived  who  felt  hardly  a  tinge  of 
its  force ;  leaders  are  to  come  who  will  smile 
when  they  glance  over  history's  pages  and  note 
the  false  teachings  of  the  past  that  gave  that 
flonentity,  that  myth,  a  power. 

The  ecclesiastics  who  found  joy  in  teaching 


192  Paths  to  Power. 

fear  of  an  avenging  God,  themselves  feared 
truth,  and  consigned  Galileo  and  Kepler  to 
prison.  They  did  not  ask,  may  not  these  teach- 
ings be  true  ?  The  church  had  given  its  theory 
of  the  universe  and  made  the  earth  the  center. 
Has  the  church  yet  learned  (^and  I  use  the  word 
church  to  embrace  every  religion  of  the  western 
world)  that  truth  will  assert  and  prove  itself  in 
spite  of  any  or  every  dogma  or  creed  in  the 
world?  Behind  truth  is  law,  and  law  and  God 
are  one  in  essence  and  in  power ;  in  its  own 
way  this  force  will  unfold  latent  energies  and 
gifts  till  man  shall  know. 

Why,  only  a  few  years  ago,  scholars  were  not 
slow  to  assert  that  brain  had  sex,  as  well  as 
physical  separateness.  Woman's  brain  was  not 
adapted  to  stand  the  strain  of  the  severe  de- 
mands of  the  college  curriculum.  Within  the 
last  thirty  years  the  college  standard  has  been 
raised  far  beyond  its  requirements  prior  to  that 
date,  and  woman's  colleges  have  multiplied,  and 
the  doors  of  our  great  universities  have  been 
opened  to  her.  That  fear,  which  was  almost 
universal,  has  been  dispelled;  and  all  the 
learned  professions  have  opened  their  doors  to 
woman,  which  forces  the  philosopher  to  ac- 
knowledge  that    brain  is    sexless.      Another 


Wasted  Energy.  193 

superstition  overthrown,  another  dogma  shat- 
tered, another  cause  for  fear  wiped  out  forever. 
In  my  introduction  I  claimed  that  worry  and 
anxiety  were  born  of  fear,  and  that  they  wasted 
the  life  force.  I  have  been  endeavoring  to  show 
first  how  this  nonentity  fear  grew  from  nothing- 
ness to  a  monster ;  but  now,  with  man's  better 
comprehension  of  truth,  it  is  shrinking  before 
the  spread  of  intelligence,  so  that  it  is  fast  being 
reduced  to  a  Lilliputian.  Devil,  evil,  and  fear  are 
words  meaning  the  same  thing,  all  expressing 
a  nonentity,  created  b}^  those  called  wise,  be- 
cause their  own  unfoldment  did  not  permit 
them  to  comprehend  the  cause  that  produced 
the  effect.  They  theorized,  and  evil  became  to 
them  a  recognized  power  in  the  world.  To 
oppose  that  conclusion  or  deduction  required 
almost  God-like  mentality.  One  placed  him- 
self in  opposition  to  the  accepted  philosophy  of 
the  age  in  which  he  lived.  It  is  now  becoming 
patent  to  the  thoughtful  investigator  why  the  re- 
formers and  philosophei-s  and  scientists  in  all  ages 
brought  with  the  truth  they  gave  to  the  world, 
limitations  and  errors.  One's  consciousness  is 
a  growth.  He  can  only  grasp  the  truth  his  un- 
foldment permits.  A  sudden  shock  has  awakened 
to  light ;  and  a  false  philosophy  has  thereby  been 
partly  overthrown.  This  meant  a  step  upward, 
13 


194  Paths  to  Power. 

it  meant  an  unfoldment.  The  receiver  of  the 
light  became  a  teacher  to  aid  advancement,  but 
he  came  hampered.  He  broke  from  one  error,  and 
invented  theories  to  uphold  a  myriad  of  super- 
stitions to  which  the  masses  yet  clung.  Luther 
had  his  limitations  ;  Cromwell  his  prejudices  and 
desire  to  annihilate  fortresses ;  Washington  his 
slaves ;  Franklin  his  weaknesses,  and  Napoleon 
his  wild  ambition  to  conquer.  Each,  however, 
was  a  prophet  in  his  time ;  each  taught  a  truth 
which  is  the  heritage  of  all  who  live  to-day. 
Darwin  stood  for  truth,  and  truth  alone ;  Inger- 
soll  to  tear  down  the  false ;  to  point  out  erroi-s 
in  creeds,  leaving  the  thoughtful  to  do  their 
own  building,  he  not  even  suggesting  the  way. 
With  the  dawn  of  the  new  century,  the  ethers 
vibrate  with  thought.  Ecclesiasticism  has  had 
its  day.  The  bold  dare  speak  and  dare  publish 
thoughts  at  variance  with  any  and  every  phil- 
osophy or  religion.  They  stand  forth,  not  as 
iconoclasts,  but  as  suggestors  of  the  need  of 
making  experiments  on  new  lines.  One  cen- 
tral thought  seems  to  dominate,  and  that  is  that 
fear  shall  no  longer  enslave.  Man  shall  no 
longer  study  the  volume  of  limitations.  He 
shall  now  give  expression  to  the  divine  within 
him.  To  study  limitations  is  wasting  force ; 
to  question  power  within  one  to  achieve  hia 


Wasted  Energy.  195 

ideal  is  ignorance  ;  to  fear  the  ascent  to  Desire's 
mountain-top  is  puerility ;  to  question  your 
ability  to  win  the  good  you  long  for  is  stupidity. 
How  prophetically  Ella  Wheeler  Wilcox  often 

writes ! 

"  Trust  in  thine  own  untried  capacity 

As  thou  wouldst  trust  in  God  Himself. 

Thy  soul 
Is  but  an  emanation  from  the  whole. 

**Thou  does  not  dream  what  forces  lie  in  thee, 
Vast  and  unfathomed  as  the  grandest  sea. 
Thy  silent  mind  o'er  diamond  caves  may  roll ; 
Go  seek  them,  but  let  pilot  Will  control 
Those  passions  which  thy  favoring  winds  can  be. 

•*  No  man  shall  place  a  limit  to  thy  strength ; 
Such  triumphs  as  no  mortal  ever  gained 
May  yet  be  thine  if  thou  wilt  but  believe 
In  thy  Creator  and  thyself.    At  length, 
Some  feet  will  tread  all  heights  now  unattained — 
Why  not  thine  own  ?  Press  on  ;  achieve  !  achieve  ! " 

Hope — desire — is  but  the  message.  Recog- 
nize this,  and  forbid  fear  an  entrance  into  your 
being.  Know  you  can  be  what  you  will  to  be. 
Desire  points  to  the  attainable.  There  is  work 
for  you  to  do,  but  it  is  joy  to  do  this  work.  First^ 
in  your  consciousness — must  come  the  faith 
that  knows  no  waning.  Let  others  call  you  a 
dreamer  if  they  will,  but  still  idealize  and  in- 
tensify that  dream.     Dream,  but  do  not  idly 


196  Paths  to  Power. 

dream.  Intellect,  judgment,  hands,  and  feet  are 
your  instruments  to  use  as  aids  to  the  attainable 
heights.  Back  of  all,  enthroned  in  your  con- 
sciousness, is  the  abiding  faith  that  seemed  to 
be  born  in  you  the  moment  you  realized  the 
reality  of  desire — the  divinity  of  your  selfhood. 

*'  Hope  is  of  the  valley  :  Effort  stands 

Upon  the  mountain  top,  facing  the  sun  ; 
Hope  dreams  of  dreams  made  true  and  great  deeds 
done  ; 

Effort  goes  forth  with  toiling  feet  and  hands, 

To  attain  the  far  off  sky-touched  table-lands 
Of  great  desire  ;  and,  till  the  end  is  won, 
Looks  not  below,  where  the  long  strife  begun 

In  pleasant  fields,  met  torrents,  rocks  and  sands. 

Hope  ;  but  when  Hope  bids  look  within  her  glass 
And  shows  the  wondrous  things  which  may  befall, 
Wait  not  for  destiny,  wait  not  at  all ; 

This  leads  to  failure's  dark  and  dim  morass  ; 
Sound  thou,  to  all  thy  powers,  a  trumpet  call. 

And,  staff  in  hand,  strive  up  the  mountain  pass." 

Once  eradicate  all  thoughts  of  fear  between 
one  and  the  accomplishment  of  purpose,  and 
work  to  the  end  loses  all  its  drudgery.  Faith 
pictures  the  attainment  glorious  in  color,  and 
the  path  to  it  becomes  refulgent  with  light. 
No  force  then  is  wasted  on  struggles  created  by 
doubts  of  the  possession  in  one's  self  of  the  powers 
necessary  to  bear  him  onward  to  the  success  de- 
sired. Our  philosophy  tells  us  that  full  conscious- 


Wasted  Energy.  197 

ness  of  the  longing  is  not  only  proof  ofthe  ability 
to  attain,  but  it  tells  us  further  that  longing  is  a 
suggestion  prompting  to  effort,  with  the  absolute 
promise  that  success  must  follow,  as  the  night 
the  day.  There  may  be  a  technic  to  be  learned 
ordinarily  involving  some  drudgery;  but  one, 
imbued  with  the  faith  that  must  come  upon 
accepting  this  philosophy,  finds  joy  even  then, 
for  every  step  is  upward,  and  he  knows  there 
can  be  no  step  backward. 

Man  has  wasted  energy  for  centuries  upon 
centuries  because  he  separated  himself  from  the 
great  cause.  He  had  been  taught  to  fear  the 
central  force  of  the  universe,  to  approach  It 
with  fear  and  trembling,  to  beg  in  all  humble- 
ness that  his  desires  might  be  granted  him.  He 
was  to  declare  his  own  unworthiness,  and  even 
then  to  beg.  An  erroneous  philosophy  cannot 
endure.  Were  not  man  directly  related  to  the 
cause,  his  advance  had  never  been.  That  es- 
sence of  divine  intelligence  was  ever  active;  but 
it  could  not  fully  assert  itself  till  man's  unfold- 
ment  would  permit  him  to  comprehend  the  truth. 
That  day  has  now  dawned.  There  is  restlessness 
over  our  religious  dogmas,  and  various  sects  are 
now  tearing  down  the  narrow  walls  of  belief. 
The  Yogis  of  India  have  awakened  the  western 
world   to  a  grander  idea   of    the   religion    of 


198  Paths  to  Power. 

Buddha.  The  teachings  of  Confucius  are  now 
understood  to  be  a  philosophy,  and  not  a  religion. 
Man  is  doing  his  own  thinking  and  investigating 
and  interpreting,  without  the  aid  of  any  priest. 
He  can  serve  his  purpose  in  the  world  only  by 
making  use  of  his  own  powers  ;  to  learn  how  to 
do  this  is  fast  becoming  his  religion.  That  he 
may  waste  no  force  to  this  end,  he  recognizes  de- 
sire as  attainable.  He  fixes  purpose,  and  knows 
self-criticism  only  weakens  and  turns  from  goals 
he  may  win.  He  fills  his  being  with  an  abiding 
faith  that  his  good  must  come  to  him.  He  then 
consciously  recognizes  his  real  selfhood,  and  all 
around  and  within  him — one  with  him — are 
harmoniously  blended  happiness,  success,  honor 
power,  duty  aud  love. 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  GENIUS. 

When  a  crisis  arises  in  a  nation  and  it  de 
mands  a  hero  to  save  its  life,  the  hero  appears. 
When  the  very  air  breathed  seems  to  make 
half  the  world  inventors,  some  one  is  certain  to 
arise  to  be  called  the  sphinx.  When  people 
grow  greedy  for  a  better  literature,  the  supply 
comes,  though  none  may  know  where  or  how 
the  geniuses  were  taught.  Is  there  a  law  under- 
lying all  these  facts?  Are  mighty  thought- 
currents  set  in  motion  by  human  minds,  that 
draw  to  themselves  through  a  subtle,  undefined 
law  of  attraction,  as  the  rushing  mountain  river 
takes  in  the  smaller  brooks  and  streams,  until 
an  irresistible  mental  force  is  gathered  creating 
new  conditions,  new  laws, — a  miraculous  up- 
lifting of  individual  mental  power?  Has  over- 
study  of  physical  phenomena  blinded  us  to  the 
more  potent  power  which  makes  psychical  phe- 
nomena possible  ? 

We  have  studied  the  genius,  bowed  before 

his  God-like  qualities,  admired,  wondered  and 

praised  him.     He  represents  a  force  too  subtle 

for  analysis,  we  say,  and  his  appearance  is  not 

199 


2  00  Paths  to  Power. 

to  be  accounted  for  by  a  law.  We  face  the  un- 
solved problems  with  assertions  declaring  thera 
incapable  of  solution.  We  seem  content  with 
ignorance. 

In  boyhood,  one  reads  Emerson's  "  Over-soul," 
and  thinks  it  rhetoric.  To-day  a  new  light  is 
being  thrown  upon  it.  Emerson  was  telling  of 
man's  fountain  of  supply,  of  a  force  on  which 
man  might  lean,  if  he  would,  of  a  power  more 
certain  and  more  wonderful  than  that  of  the 
greatest  dynamo  in  the  physical  world.  He 
was  trying,  in  part,  to  tell  what  the  story  of 
Jesus  taught  him.  It  was  a  new  interpretation, 
and  all  authority  was  against  it.  He  cared  little 
for  recognized  authority,  knowing  the  countless 
instances  in  which  that  authority  had  been  found 
unworthy  of  acceptance  ;  and  yet  his  readers 
hardly  comprehended  the  truths  he  uttered. 
They  were  fascinated  with  his  diction,  but  failed 
to  grasp  his  thought. 

Over  and  over  again  have  we  questioned  if 
two  people  could  ever  be  made  to  understand 
each  other.  We  do  not  listen  to  new  proposi- 
tions with  receptive  faculties.  We  listen  with 
our  prejudices.  All  existence  is  a  battlefield, 
and  our  narrow  prejudices  will  battle  against 
their  overthrow,  though  their  marshalled  foes 
be  the  white-clad  heroes  of  Truth.    Again  and 


Something  about  Genius.         201 

again  we  have  seen  this  battle  fought  and  won 
by  right ;  still,  the  ignorance  of  to-day  finds  its 
supporters  and  defenders  among  the  accepted 
scholars  of  to-day.  Where  is  our  boasted  in- 
tellectual growth?  Where  our  vaunted  prog- 
ress ?  We  are  to-day  the  slaves  of  our  preju- 
dices ;  our  environment  is  our  prison-house. 

The  true  genius  is  a  strange  compound,  full  of 
boldness  ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  excessively  dif- 
fident. He  is  bold  in  his  work,  soaring  often  to 
heights  to  which  angels  dare  not  aspire ;  and  yet 
he  meets  the  praises  of  the  world  with  the  diffi- 
dence of  a  maiden  fresh  from  convent  life.  He 
seems  to  question  if  he  is  entitled  to  the  honor. 
His  best  work,  apparently,  comes  forth  through 
him  only  as  the  instrument.  Whence  the  crea- 
tive power  that  flashed  through  his  conscious- 
ness he  hardly  knows.  His  it  is,  and  yet  not 
his.  We  may  ask  if  it  were  inspiration,  but 
what  is  inspiration  ?  Who  inspired  him  ? 
How?  Why?  Can  the  secret  be  revealed? 
Does  the  higher  power  control  him,  or  he  the 
power  ? 

First,  it  is  to  be  observed  that  a  true  genius 
is  unhampered  by  any  conventionalities.  They 
are  meaningless  to  him.  He  is  beyond  the  de- 
ductions drawn  from  the  lessons  of  the  past, 
and  he  rejects  their  teachings.     He  breaks  over 


202  Paths  to  Power. 

every  environment.  He  lias  discovered  a  hid- 
den force.  He  stands  on  a  higher  plane. 
He  never  doubts,  he  never  fears.  He  does  not 
need  to  guess,  to  hope — he  knows.  Who  gave 
him  this  knowledge  ?  Not  books,  nor  teachers, 
nor  experience.  We  can  write  denials  without 
limit ;  they  only  deny.  Must  we  forever  deny 
and  stop  there  ?  Denials  help ;  they  cleanse 
the  mind  of  error,  and  then  there  is  room  for 
truth.  If  we  can  learn  the  secret  of  the  genius, 
we  shall  gain  in  power  though  none  of  his  be 
ours. 

The  genius's  first  step  forward  is  not  made 
with  any  rash  force.  He  often  sits  listless. 
He  waits.  Waits,  seemingly,  for  the  message 
to  come  to  excite  him  to  activity.  Waits  for 
direction  from  a  mightier  force  than  intellect. 
The  real  center,  the  dynamo  of  thought,  is 
only  reached  when  man  is  brought  to  realize 
that  he  is  one  with  infinite  power ;  that  that 
infinite  power  without,  or  separate  from  his  own 
spiritual  consciousness,  would  be  finite.  Once 
man  advances  to  this  plane,  he  becomes  the 
instrument  to  do  the  will  of  the  All-powerful. 
He  has  then  no  need  of  instruction  that  books 
or  experience  may  bring.  His  strength  is 
supreme  ;  doubts  cannot  come ;  he  believes,  he 
knows.     Believes  not  church  dogmas,  not  creeds 


Something  about  Genius.         203 

written  by  man,  but  the  truth  spoken  by  the 
Nazarene  when  he  said  "  I  and  the  Father  are 
One."  The  Christ  within  us  is  never  assertive, 
and  it  will  not  manifest  itself  until  we  have 
learned  to  still  the  action  of  our  haphazard, 
guessing  intellect.  Even  Jesus  himself  said  to 
His  disciples,  "  Greater  things  than  these  shall  ye 
do."  He  foresaw  the  possibilities  to  be  reached 
by  gradual  spiritual  unfoldment,  when  man 
should  realize  himself  not  a  reflection  of  God, 
but  rather  the  expression  of  God.  God  is  all, 
filling  all  space ;  we  are  included  in  that  all. 
God,  being  an  invisible  presence,  can  have  no 
personality,  but  man  is  the  projector  of  that 
great  Invisible  into  visibility.  Just  in  propor- 
tion as  one  grasps  this  truth,  thereby  recognizing 
and  claiming  his  birthright,  will  that  one  mani- 
fest to  the  world  the  divinity  within  him. 

If  this  philosophy  be  true,  it  may  be  asked 
why  the  genius  may  not  teach  it.  The  question  is 
complicated ;  the  philosophy  is  true  and  subtle ; 
and  is  both  old  and  new.  Though  obeying  its 
laws,  the  genius,  as  a  rule,  does  not  understand  it 
A  flash  of  light  came  to  him  from  the  great  soul 
dynamo,  and  then  he  learned  of  the  power  with- 
in. Why  and  how  it  came  he  did  not  question. 
He  awoke  to  knowledge,  and  rejoiced  in  its 
possession.      Paul's   conversion   was   instanta- 


204  Paths  to  Power. 

neous,  and  Newton's  discovery  developed  from  a 
simple  incident.  For  one  rapt  moment  each,  in 
seeming  listless  mood,  when  intellect  was  rest- 
ing from  her  weary  battles,  found  himself  in 
complete  harmony  with  his  own  spiritual  self, 
and  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  was  found.  The 
God  within,  always  ready  to  help,  was  unhin- 
dered, for  an  instant ;  and  then  the  work  was 
done. 

Burns,  untutored,  caught  a  glimpse  of  that 
divine  light,  and  sang  the  songs  that  gushed 
forth  from  his  soul.  He  merely  uttered  what 
his  inner  consciousness  breathed.  He  could  not 
help  it.  He  was  only  the  instrument  to  record 
the  melodies  God  (his  subjected  self)  sang  while 
he  listened. 

Lincoln,  withdrawing  his  gaze  from  the  smoke 
and  horror  of  the  battle-field,  saw  freedom  fet- 
tered and  humanity  outraged,  and  the  God 
within  him  spoke.  The  emancipation  proclama- 
tion was  published;  and  a  whole  nation, 
startled,  saw  tliat  its  President  in  reaching  one 
hand  down  to  the  slave  had  grasped  the  God  of 
the  universe  with  the  other.  By  that  act  a  new 
force  was  created  which  saved  the  Union.  A 
thought  current  was  established,  bearing  on  its 
bosom  the  emblem  of  right  and  freedom,  and 
naught  could  resist  its  progress.     The  intellect 


Something  about  Genius.         205 

never  gave  birth  to  such  a  God-like  deed  as 
that. 

We  may  never  know  how  Bulwer  came  to 
write  "The  Coming  Race."  He  had  studied 
Eastern  thought,  and  naturally  reflected  some 
of  its  teachings  ;  and  yet  it  was  his  inner  con- 
sciousness, his  soul,  that  taught  him  the  pos- 
sibilities of  vriL 

Chatterton's  active  mind  was  completely  ob- 
literated or  unhinged  by  the  spiritual  self  with- 
in. The  prose  of  life  was  torture  to  him,  for 
the  material  is  not  of  the  spirit.  He  became 
over-spiritualized  for  his  physical  strength ;  and, 
having  tasted  the  joys  of  Heaven,  he  could  not 
endure  the  cares  of  this  work-a-day  world.  The 
intelligence  surrounding  him  failed  to  under- 
stand him,  so  he  rashly  destroyed  both  his 
works  and  himself. 

What  light  bui-st  upon  Franklin  that  led  to 
his  flying  a  kite  in  the  midst  of  a  thunder- 
storm ?  Wliy  did  Morse  conceive  the  tele- 
graphic alphabet  before  he  made  a  test  ?  What 
power  directed  Shakespeare  when  he  wrote, 
"  1*11  put  a  girdle  round  about  the  earth  in  forty 
minutes  ?  '*  Whence  comes  the  mighty  power 
of  a  single  word  like  patriotism  ?  Is  not  love 
as  real  as  existence,  and  what  has  its  genuine 
force  to  do  with  intellectual  culture  ? 


2o6  Paths  to  Power. 

If  one  may  gather  from  all  this  that  the  genius 
touched  some  hidden  spring  to  wake  his  inner 
consciousness  (soul)  to  action,  and  to  take  con- 
trol of  his  work  ;  the  inquirer  now  comes  abreast 
of  the  subject  before  us  with  the  momentous 
question,  HOW  ?  Does  he  stumble  on  the 
concealed  button  ?  Though  a  law  may  underlie 
the  result  of  the  pressure,  is  there  a  law  which 
will  tell  one  how  to  find  the  hidden  spring  ? 
If  it  be  conceded  that  our  argument  thus  far  is 
correct,  that  it  is  the  awakening  to  one's  soul 
endowments  that  creates  the  genius,  that  that 
done  a  law  is  disclosed  which  is  irresistible  in 
its  movement  and  power ;  then,  it  is  equally 
certain  that  this  acquaintance  with  the  true  ego 
can  be  obtained  by  a  law  as  clearly  defined  as 
the  one  by  which  the  ego  acts.  Is  any  other 
conclusion  possible  ?  To  concede  the  one,  we 
must  concede  the  other.  What  is  there  in  the 
experiences  of  geniuses  that  is  tangible  on  this 
subject  ?  Have  any  of  them  written  anything 
to  suggest  that  they  had  found  the  center  of 
beinof  in  themselves?  Let  us  see.  Matthew 
Arnold  was  certainly  directed  by  none  of  the 
dogmas  of  religion  when  he  wrote  : 

"  Once  read  thy  own  breast  right, 
And  thou  hast  done  with  fears ; 
Man  gets  no  other  light, 
Search  he  a  thousand  years. 


Something  about  Genius.         207 

Sink  in  thyself  I  there  ask 
What  ails  thee — at  that  shrine." 

He  wrote  this  from  the  center.  He  knew  the 
world  was  not  yet  ready  for  it,  because  he  was 
a  teacher  and  knew  the  generally  accepted 
philosophy. 

Robert  Browning  was  bolder.  He  lived  more 
at  the  center.  He  wondered  why  the  general 
reading  public  could  not  understand  him.  He 
repeatedly  declared  himself  openly ;  but  few  ol 
the  world  of  readers  grasped  the  primary  truth, 
that  imagination  and  the  soul,  the  center  of 
being,  have  the  same  source.  How  could 
Browning  have  expressed  himself  more  clearlj 
on  this  subject  than  in  these  lines  : 

*'  Truth  is  within  us  all ;  it  takes  no  use 
From  outward  things,  whate'er  we  may  believe 
There  is  an  inmost  center  in  us  all 
Where  truth  abides  in  fulness  ;  but  around, 
Wall  upon  wall,  the  gross  flesh  hems  us  in." 

In  the  Epilogue  to  Beaumont  and  Fletcher's 
*  Honest  Man's  Fortune  "  we  have  convincing 
proof  that  these  writers,  in  reflective  mood, 
clearly  recognized  the  power  of  the  soul: 

*  Man  is  his  own  star  ;  and  the  soul  that  can 
Render  an  honest  and  a  perfect  man, 
Commands  all  light,  all  influence,  all  fate ; 
Nothing  to  him  falls  early  or  too  late." 


2o8  Paths  to  Power. 

Shakespeare,  the  unapproachable,  turns  on 
the  searchlight,  revealing  the  mystery  over  and 
over  again  ;  but  he  only  holds  it  to  the  center  for 
brief  instances  of  time,  then  dashes  into  the 
materiality  of  life : 

Hamlet's 

*'  There  are  more  things  in  heaven  and  earth 
Than  are  dreamt  of  in  your  philosophy  " 

is  suggestive  of  knowledge  Shakespeare  himself 
possessed  but  might  not  speak ;  while, 

**  There  is  nothing  either  good  or  bad,  but  thinking 
makes  it  so," 

is  a  positive  statement  of  truth  a  mighty  genius 
utters,  without  a  thought  of  the  intellectual 
philosophy  which  might  bring  one  to  the  same 
conclusion.  His  most  reflective  mood  in  this 
play  is  doubtless  reached  in 

"  There's  a  divinity  that  shapes  our  ends. 
Rough-hew  them  how  we  will." 

Quoting  at  random  from  his  plays  we  find 
him  full  of  positive  statements  as  to  the  power 
of  mind  over  matter. 

**  None  can  cure  their  harms  by  wailing  them." 

"  When  remedies  are  past,  the  griefs  are  ended 
By  seeing  the  worst,  which  late  on  hopes  depended. 


Something  about  Genius.         2og 

To  mourn  a  mischief  that  is  past  and  gone 
Is  the  next  way  to  draw  new  mischief  on." 

"  We,  ignorant  of  ourselves, 
Beg  often  our  own  harms,  which  the  wise  powers 
Deny  us  for  our  good." 

"  The  Tempest "  is  a  play  which  reflects,  as 
a  whole,  Shakespeare's  perfect  acquaintance 
with  his  true  ego.  Prospero  stands  for  the  per- 
sonality of  God  or  good,  developed  in  the  mortal 
Shakespeare.  The  power  of  Prospero  is  only 
used  for  good.  A  storm  is  created  ;  a  shipwreck 
follows ;  and  yet  no  harm  comes.  Instead  of 
harm,  wrongs  are  righted ;  hearts  are  lighted 
up  w^ith  love  ;  forgiveness  is  asked  with  perfect 
faith  that  it  rejoices  alike  "  him  that  gives  and 
him  that  receives ; "  and  life  and  love  seal  an 
eternal  Now  with  peace,  and  joy  and  rest. 
Then  Shakespeare  most  timely  and  fittingly  de- 
clares his  work  done. 

Emerson  perfectly  understood  the  true  source 
of  the  power  of  the  genius,  and  clearly  and 
boldly  declared  it : 

*'  This  overestimate  of  the  possibilities  of 
Paul  and  Pericles,  this  underestimate  of  our 
own,  comes  from  the  neglect  of  the  fact  of  an 
identical  nature." 

*'  A  man's  genius,  the  quality  that  differences 
him  from  every  other,  the  susceptibility  to  one 
14 


210  Paths  to  Power. 

class  of  influences,  the  selection  of  wliat  is  fit 
for  him,  the  rejection  of  what  is  unfit,  deter- 
mines for  him  the  character  of  the  universe." 

Emerson,  however,  in  *'The  Over-soul,"  is 
most  complete  in  his  wonderful  revelation  of 
the  center : 

"  All  goes  to  show  that  the  soul  of  man  is  not 
an  organ,  but  animates  and  exercises  all  the 
organs;  is  not  a  function  like  the  power  of 
memory,  of  calculation,  of  comparison,  but  uses 
these  as  hands  and  feet ;  is  not  a  faculty,  but  a 
light ;  is  not  the  intellect  or  the  will,  but  the 
master  of  the  intellect  and  the  will ;  is  the  vast 
background  of  our  being,  in  which  they  lie — an 
immensity  that  is  not  possessed  and  that  cannot 
be  possessed." 

Henry  More  tells  of  the  undivided  union  of 
the  soul  and  God  in, — 

*'  But  souls  that  of  His  own  good  life  partake, 
He  loves  as  His  own  self  ;  dear  as  his  eye, 
They  are  to  Him.    He'll  never  them  forsake  : 
When  they  shall  die,  then  God  Himself  shall  die. 
They  live,  they  live  in  blest  eternity." 

Robert  Holt,  of  London,  in  a  little  poem,  most 
daintily  tells  the  story  as  it  came  to  him : 
**  We  talk  not  of  God  in  such  phrases, 
As  hide  or  entangle  the  truth  ; 
Nor  sing  with  the  dreamer  who  praises 
The  sensuous  visions  of  youth ; 


Something  about  Genius.         211 

But  humbly  avow  that  we  know  not 

The  form  of  the  Fountain  of  Light, 
Whose  brilliant,  bright  harmonies  flow  not 

From  aught  that  is  subject  to  sight. 
Yet  our  hope  is  eternal  progression, 

With  charity  fruitful  in  all, 
For  time  never  knew  retrogression. 

Nor  God  e'en  a  thought  could  recall. 
But  o'er  us,  around  us,  and  in  us, 

Abideth  the  Giver  of  Might, 
Who  tenderly  teaching  would  win  us 

To  trust  that  the  true  is  the  right. 
So  sink  we  to  slumber  unfearing, 

Assured  that  our  Father  is  nigh, 
And  wake  up  in  the  morning  revering, 

Or  sleep  on,  unquestioning  why." 

These  quotations  from  geniuses  tell  us  that 
all  of  them  recognized  a  higher  power  directing 
and  guiding.  Some  of  them  hint  at  the  way  of 
approach  to  it ;  but,  as  a  rule,  they  are  more 
or  less  vague  on  that  subject.  The  poet  can 
hardly  be  expected  to  be  didactic.  When  he 
nears  that  plane  the  intellect  is  guiding  his 
pen  ;  when  be  feels  his  best  and  greatest 
thoughts  he  writes  from  the  seat  of  the  emo- 
tions. These  have  little  to  do  with  logic,  they 
have  all  to  do  with  the  soul.  The  new  meta- 
physics of  to-day  is  founded  on  the  bold  propo 
sition  that  all  can  learn  how  to  reach  this  center. 
These  scientists  tell  us  that  when  Jesus  said 
•'  I  am  the  truth  and  the  life,"  the  "  I "  did  not 


212  Paths  to  Power. 

mean  his  personality.  It  meant  the  true  "  ego." 
It  is  within  each  one  of  us.  It  is  as  potent  with 
us  to-day  as  it  was  with  the  great  teacher,  did 
we  only  know.  To  learn,  to  know,  will  come 
to  him  who  first  perceives  the  truths  of  the 
philosophy;  and  then  devotes  liimself  to  the 
patient  and  indefatigable  study  of  its  laws  which 
relate  to  the  calling  forth  of  the  powers  of  the 
soul.  These  laws  are  pregnant  with  trutli,  and 
step  by  step  is  taken  with  full  demonstration. 
Great  freedom  is  allowed,  as  unfoldment  cannot 
run  on  absolutely  parallel  lines;  still,  there  is 
a  harmonious  blending  of  experiences  as  each 
advances  in  knowledge  of  Being. 

He  who  seriously  desires  any  worthy  attain- 
ment can  gain  it,  if  he  unites  that  desire  with 
perfect  faith  that  the  good  he  Avishes  will  come 
to  him.  Once  he  grasps  the  full  power  of  tlie 
ego  within  him,  he  will  know  tliat  desire  im- 
plies in  itself  the  power  to  reach  and  satiate  it. 
The  genius  must,  therefore,  first  have  desired 
what  afterward  became  his.  With  desire  fol- 
lowed expectation,  which,  enlarged  into  belief, 
opened  the  way  for  vibrations  to  pass  to  con- 
sciousness from  the  soul-center  dynamo;  and 
then  knowledge  asserted  itself,  and  the  geniua 
was  born. 


SHAKESPEARE :  THE  GENIUS. 

HOW   HE  TOLD   HIS    SECRET  IN    "  THE   DEEAM  '' 


Genius  has  been  for  ages  the  shrine  before 
which  intelligence  has  bowed.  To  that  shrine, 
it  came  with  adoration  and  with  questionings. 
The  genealogical  records  were  searched,  but 
heredity  offered  no  solution  for  the  irregular  and 
seemingly  spasmodic  appearances  among  men 
of  these  mighty  leaders.  Environment  and 
education  presented  no  theories  to  account  for 
the  advent  of  the  marvels.  A  flash  from  the 
Infinite  found  lodgment  in  human  brain,  was 
the  best  modern  religion  could  say  in  way  of 
explanation.  The  over-zealous  demander  of 
demonstrable  proofs — he  who  is  usually  called 
an  agnostic — found,  upon  investigating,  nothing 
beyond  the  ordinary  in  the  man,  and  tried  to 
account  for  the  works  done  by  arguing  that  a 
combination  of  intellects  centered  to  produce 
them ;  and  then  he  busied  himself  to  find  the 
other  ones  who  told  the  genius  how  and  what  to 
do.    The  mystery  surrounding  the  advent  and 

213 


214  Paths  to  Power. 

growth  of  genius  gave  the  subject  a  wonderful 
fascination  to  the  multitude,  as  well  as  to  the 
scholar.  Gradually,  it  was  observed  that  the 
greatest  of  geniuses  were  best  understood  and 
appreciated  by  geniuses  possessing,  in  a  lesser 
degree,  the  powers  of  their  superiors.  Scott 
left  the  field  of  poetry  to  Byron,  and  Goethe 
bowed  before  Shakespeare. 

To  discover  truth,  one  must  break  from  gen- 
eralizations. Startling  as  may  seem  the  facts 
of  history,  there  must  be  a  cause  for  every  effect. 
Secrets  are  being  pierced  in  every  decade  which, 
for  ages  previously,  had  been  declared  by  the 
wise  as  permanently  sealed  from  human  compre- 
hension. These  philosophers  assumed  to  know 
the  limits  of  thought.  Their  own  intelligences 
fixed  the  boundary  lines,  but  these  lines  were 
extended  in  turn  again  and  again  in  the  un- 
foldment  of  man.  To-day  the  study  of  the 
limits  of  human  possibilities  has  lost  its  former 
charm.  To  help  one's  own  selfhood  to  its  high- 
est good  is  now  the  purpose  of  living,  the  holi- 
est of  religions.  We  have  done  with  the  study 
of  limitations.  If  all  power  is  within  the  soul 
of  man,  let  us  find  the  way  to  that  reservoir.  If 
it  is  fixed  somewhere  in  the  skies,  let  us  climb 
there  by  instruments  man  may  invent  and  build. 
We  have  computed  the  orbits  of  the  planets  ,* 


Shakespeare  :  The  Genius.       2  rg 

measured  the  heights  of  mountains  on  the  moon, 
and  we  have  weighed  the  stars.  The  source  of 
power  cannot  be  lodged  higher  than  the  star 
containing  the  dwelling-place  of  the  personal 
Deity,  so  fully  and  so  magnificently  described  by 
the  ecclesiastic.  That  wonderful  home,  filled 
with  gold  and  silver  and  jewels  and  pearls 
and  diamonds  ;  material  treasures  which  the  im* 
ma-terial  soul  freed  from  the  body  could  never 
use,  was  to  be  its  eternal  dwelling-place. 
Strange  consistency,  strange  logic!  We  have 
found  the  ecclesiastic  so  often  in  error  as  to  his 
conclusions  on  scientific  lines,  that  we  are  not 
restrained  from  our  investigations  when  he  de- 
clares :  **  God  has  placed  His  seal  there — man  (or 
human  thought)  can  go  no  further."  How  does 
he  know?  Who  taught  him  the  limits  of 
thought,  of  human  possibilities?  If  there  are 
secrets  man  has  not  penetrated  (and  I  admit 
there  are  myriads  of  them)  it  is  simply  because 
his  unfoldment  has  not  permitted  it  yet.  I  deny 
any  philosophy  that  limits  the  powers  of  man.  I 
see  in  such  a  philosophy  only  the  excuse  of 
ignorance  when  asked  for  a  cause  not  fathomed. 
Because  one  does  not  know,  does  not  mean  that 
the  limits  of  the  attainable  have  been  reached. 
Man  is  better  understood  to-day  than  at  any 
previous  period  of  history.     His  unfoldment  was 


21 6  Paths  to  Power. 

restrained  for  centuries  by  the  *'  cannots  "  and 
"  dare-nots  "  of  the  "  know-nots  *'  who  claimed  to 
be  the  '*  know-alls  "  of  humanity.  In  seeking  the 
cause  to-day  in  any  field  of  investigation,  we  do 
not  permit  ourselves  to  be  hampered  by  any 
conclusions  drawn  from  theories  held  but  never 
proven.  We  care  nothing  about  them.  If  true, 
we  will  find  the  proof.  Mysteries  of  centuries 
are  being  revealed,  because  man  now  reads  the 
open  book  without  prejudice.  Much  of  the 
learning  of  the  past  has  ceased  to  be  learning. 
The  investigator  has  no  love,  or  even  respect, 
for  thousands  of  volumes  quoted  as  authority 
for  years  and  years.  Too  often  conclusions 
were  reached  through  traditions,  and  superstition 
made  those  traditions  sacred.  This  age  asks  for 
truth,  and  he  who  claims  to  assert  it  must  bring 
his  proofs. 

The  secrets  of  a  genius  lie,  I  claim,  in  his 
power  to  appropriate  the  riches  contained  with- 
in his  own  soul.  Though  he  must  consciously 
do  this,  it  is  possible  he  may  not  comprehend 
the  law  to  the  attainment  of  the  end.  With  the 
light  thrown  upon  us  during  the  last  few  years 
of  the  century  just  closed,  we  find  a  thousand 
barriers  to  understanding  broken  down;  amd 
now,  from  the  printed  page,  we  see  reflected 
more   than  author  or  reader  ever  saw  before. 


Shakespeare  :  The  Genius.       217 

The  whole  secret  is  there,  but  revealed  to  only 
those  who  may  know. 

The  mystery  of  genius  is  being  transformed 
into  the  unfoldment  of  power  through  conscious 
appropriation  of  one's  own  soul  force.  This 
unfoldment  may  be  stimulated,  but  it  cannot  be 
hurried  faster  than  one  may  consciously  ap- 
prehend. 

My  work  here  is  not  to  generalize,  but  to 
limit  myself  to  the  study  of  a  single  genius,  and 
practically  to  that  of  his  unfoldment  as  evi- 
denced in  the  background  of  two  of  his  plays. 
My  introduction,  therefore,  is  simply  suggestive 
of  the  purport  of  our  study.  The  student  of 
Shakespeare  notes  his  unfoldment  by  grouping 
his  plays  into  four  periods ;  each  group  reflects 
his  thought  and  life  at  that  particular  period, 
and  each  represents  a  step  upward  in  power  till 
he  stood  alone — Master. 

Shakespeare,  a  country  lad,  found  his  way  to 
London.  How^  we  do  not  know ;  but  why 
we  now  do  know.  No  conscious  reasoning 
could  have  sent  him  thither,  for  his  education 
and  experience  gave  him  no  preparation  for 
advancement  in  any  field  of  labor  in  the  metro- 
polis. It  must  have  been  a  suggestion  from  the 
subconscious.  He  then  obeyed  a  soul  command  ; 
that  was   the  first  step  on   the  way  to  bring 


2i8  Paths  to  Power. 

into  action  the  endowments  of  his  soul.  He 
found  London,  he  found  the  theater;  then,  on 
conscious  mind  first  dawned  the  possibilities 
of  the  use  of  those  soul  endowments.  He  com- 
menced by  revising  old  plays.  This  gave  him 
some  technical  discipline  in  the  use  of  language 
and  taught  him  to  appreciate  the  purpose  of 
art,  to  please.  A  hurried  glance  at  his  literary 
growth  is  preliminary  to  my  purpose. 

Beginning  with  the  retouching  of  old  plays, 
he  followed  this  with  the  writing  of  entire 
scenes  as  in  "  Titus  Andronicus "  and  *'  First 
Part  of  King  Henry  VI." — both  attributed  to 
Shakespeare,  yet  very  little  of  his  work  in  either. 
Next  comes  his  first  original  comedy,  "  Love's 
Labor  Lost"  presenting  sketchy  characters,  not 
fully  defined.  The  rapid  farce  of  '*  Comedy  of 
Errors  "  followed,  and  then  a  pure  vein  of  poetry 
was  reached  in  *'  Midsummer  Night's  Dream." 
The  Italian  story  next  received  his  attention, 
and*' Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona,"  "All's  Well 
that  Ends  Well "  and  "  Romeo  and  Juliet "  fol- 
lowed  in  quick  succession.  Then  the  writer 
seemed  to  lay  hold  of  real  life.  He  dropped 
rhyme  to  a  large  extent,  and  became  bolder  in 
his  creations.  '*  The  Merchant  of  Venice,"  writ- 
ten doubtless  in  1596,  artistically  breathed  forth 
mastery — the  artist  suddenly  conscious  of  some- 


Shakespeare  :  The  Genius.       219 

thing  brilliant.  It  was  the  outburst  of  the  suc- 
cessful man,  at  last  sure  of  his  own  powers. 
He  next  ventured  on  the  domain  of  history, 
and  one  after  another  of  the  historical  plays 
followed.  Then  there  came  a  pause,  as  though 
the  day  of  brightness  were  ended  to  this  author, 
and  deep  night  settled  around  him.  The  mas- 
ter then  plunged  beneath  the  surface  of 
life,  within  the  utmost  recesses  of  human 
thought,  and  there  studied  the  mystery  of  evil. 
The  tragedies  of  life  were  told.  It  was  a 
period  to  the  author,  as  many  of  his  readers  have 
perceived,  following  broken  faith  and  broken 
pledges  on  the  part  of  friends  ;  and  yet  his 
belief  in  human  virtue  did  not  wholly 
desert  him  ;  in  "  Lear "  there  is  a  Cordelia,  in 
'*  Measure  for. Measure  "  (which  is  a  bitter  com- 
edy, at  best)  an  Isabella,  in  "  Macbeth,"  a  Ban- 
quo.  Following  this  darkness  came  a  brighter 
and  purer  sky,  as  though  the  writer  came  forth 
purified  and  strengthened.  He  then  presented 
his  four  romance  plays,  "  Pericles,"  "  Cymbe- 
line,"  '* Winter's  Tale"  and  ''The  Tempest." 
They  sparkle  with  the  delight  of  vigorous  life, 
they  glow  with  the  heroism  of  noble  woman, 
hood  and  noble  manhood,  and  they  are  sancti= 
fied  by  the  godliness  of  forgiveness.  Shake- 
speare's literary  work  has  been  thus  grouped  by 


220  Paths  to  Power. 

the  Shakespeare  Society  of  London.  The  first 
period  is  that  of  apprenticeship  and  experiment  j 
the  second  gives  us  the  comedies  and  historical 
plays  ;  the  third,  the  tragedies ;  and  the  fourth, 
the  romance  plays. 

With  this  classification,  we  find  "  Midsummer 
Night's  Dream  "  in  the  first  group,  and  in  the 
last  group,  '*  The  Tempest."  Between  these 
two  productions  were  the  growth  and  develop- 
ment of  the  master  literary  genius  of  the  world. 
As  metaphysical  students,  as  of  that  band  striv- 
ing to  make  occult  proofs  open  to  all,  let  us 
see  if  the  poet  has  not  presented  us  with  the 
story  of  his  own  unfoldment  in  these  two  plays, 
which  we  may  designate  as  his  two,  and  as  his 
only  fairy  plays. 

Shakespeare  was  not  over  twenty-eight  years 
old  when  he  wrote  "  Midsummer  Night's 
Dream,"  probably  not  more  than  twenty-six, 
as  it  is  settled  that  the  play  was  written  as 
early  as  1592,  possibly  as  early  as  1590.  The 
"  Tempest "  was  written  in  the  latter  part  of 
1610,  so  that  the  author  devoted  himself  to  vig- 
orous literary  work  twenty  years  after  writing 
his  first,  before  he  wrote  his  second  fairy  play. 

The  "  Dream  "  is  a  great  advance  on  what 
Shakespeare  had  produced  before.  His  fancy 
was  in  full  glow,  and  it  delighted  in  boyish  fun. 


Shakespeare  :  The  Genius.       221 

Dr.  Furnivall,  of  the  London  Shakespeare  So- 
ciety says :  "  It  is  a  poem,  a  dream,  rather  than  a 
play,"  and  Edgar  A.  Poe  wrote  :  "  When  I  am 
asked  for  a  definition  of  poetry,  I  think  of  Ti- 
tania  and  Oberon  of  the  '  Midsummer  Night's 
Dream.*  "  As  we  study  this  play,  for  my  pres- 
ent purpose,  it  is  not  for  the  successions  of  in- 
cidents and  scenery  and  humor  and  fun ;  it 
is  not  for  its  poetic  thought  which  fills  im- 
agination with  a  world  of  suggestions  on 
which  to  build  ideals ;  it  is  not  for  the  triple 
stories  of  the  loves  of  devoted  lovers ;  but  for 
the  great  background  of  it  all.  Back  of  all 
these  creations  of  fancy  is  their  creator  who 
gave  this  brilliant  love-song  to  the  world.  His 
creations  we  know,  but  it  is  him,  the  creator, 
whom  we  would  know.  Let  us  recall  first, 
the  young  author  striving,  in  that  remarkable 
Elizabethan  age,  to  hold  his  place  as  a  drama- 
tist among  the  university  men  (led  by  Ben 
Jonson)  who  all  had  read  much  Latin  and 
much  Greek.  He  could  not  call  on  scholarship 
for  aid,  for  that  temple  he  had  not  yet  entered ; 
but  fancy's  realm  was  open  to  all,  and  no  bound- 
ary lines  have  ever  been  drawn  to  the  limitless 
world  imagination  covers.  In  one  speech  only 
of  Theseus  does  the  author  put  himself  in  this 
creation. 


222  Paths  to  Power. 

**  The  poet's  eye  in  a  fine  frenzy  rolling 
Doth  glance   from  heaven  to  earth,  from   earth  tc 

heaven : 
And,  as  imagination  bodies  forth 
The  forms  of  things  unknown,  the  poet's  pen 
Turns  them  to  shapes,  and  gives  to  airy  nothings 
A  local  habitation  and  a  name." 

The  key-note  of  the  play  is  found  in  Theseus* 
instructions  to  Philostrate  : 

*'  Stir  up  the  Athenian  youth  to  merriments : 
Awake  the  pert  and  nimble  spirit  of  mirth." 

There  are  two  commands  in  these  two  lines, 
one  to  mortals  (Athenian  youth)  and  the  other 
to  immortals  (fairies).  In  short,  there  had 
been  enough  of  battles  and  wars,  diplomacy 
and  treaties  ;  now  was  the  time  for  merriment, 
song,  and  surprises.  Hard  reason  with  its 
square  toes  was  closeted  and  sealed  within ; 
the  doors  of  wonder-land  were  opened  and  fairy 
kings  and  queens  and  courtiers  entered,  and 
for  three  days  ruled  that  portion  of  the  Athe- 
nian world.  When  Shakespeare  held  himself 
passive,  having  first  attuned  his  mind  to  the  vi- 
brations of  fairy-land,  he  practically  gave  the 
mischief  making  Puck,  Robin  Good-fellow, 
the  direction  of  his  thought,  and  wrote  for  this 
"shrewd  and  knavish  sprite."  That  wood  near 
Athens  glowed  with  color  and  was  peopled  with 


Shakespeare:  The  Genius.       223 

beings  who  were  more  than  kings  as  to  power,  but 
pigmies  as  to  knowledge  of  how  to  use  power. 
They  waited  for  suggestions,  and  then  blundered 
in  their  work.  They  corrected  their  blunders 
when  bid ;  but  whether  they  erred  or  obeyed,  they 
were  alike  happy  and  joyous — all  life  was  a  di'eam 
with  them. 

Shakespeare  entered  fairy-land  an  experi- 
menter, he  came  forth  from  it  a  poet.  The 
portals  of  life's  possibilities  opened  to  him  when 
he  laid  aside  his  pen  after  completing  the  writing 
of  this  play.  He  was  a  young  man,  just  passing 
the  threshold  of  the  great  school  of  experience. 
Its  lessons,  later  learned,  were  sealed  volumes 
as  yet  to  him.  Still  was  he  asking,  where  is 
power  ?  His  association  with  university  men 
had  told  him  of  the  mental  discipline  to  be  ac- 
quired by  classical  training.  He  knew  his  want 
of  it  could  be  made  up  by  study  and  experience. 
Power  was  something  more  subtle — who  held 
the  keys  to  that  mighty  storebouse  ?  The 
child-mind  traced  it  to  a  fairy-land,  and  the 
young  author  in  search  must  seek.  The  dearest 
corner  in  tlie  temple  of  imagination  is  peopled 
with  fairies,  and  youth  is  fond  of  dreaming 
there.  To  abdicate  to  the  unseen  forces, 
even  though  we  name  them  fairies,  is  the  first 
step  upward  to  bring  ont^'s  consciousness  to  feel 


224  Paths  to  Power. 

and  to  receive  the  vibrations  of  truth  sent  forth 
by  the  soul.  Power  is  within,  though  seem- 
ingly  without.  The  way  to  one's  soul  must  be 
opened  that  the  stream  may  flow  from  the 
source,  fill  and  waken  the  active  or  conscious 
self  to  knowledge. 

In  the  "  Dream,"  the  youthful  author  presents 
us  with  a  world  where  fairies  rule.  Man  was 
their  sport,  their  pastime.  Life,  success,  hap- 
piness, were  the  accidents  of  chance.  Man  was 
helpless,  and  environment  was  real  and  absolute. 
An  unknown  and  an  unknowable  force  ruled 
the  world.  This  is  the  philosophy  of  youth, 
the  philosophy  of  inexperience,  the  dogma  of 
ecclesiasticism.  Shakespeare  happily  made  his 
fairy  world  a  world  of  playfulness  ;  yyt,  within 
its  shadows,  there  were  divine  realities.  No 
character  in  this  play  could  be  a  reflection  of 
the  author's  ideal,  for  that  ideal  was  not  yet 
fully  created.  Here,  in  his  work,  he  was  only 
the  instrument  to  record  youth's  imagings.  He 
shaped  characters  that  fairies  managed  and 
directed.  The  real  source  of  power  was  to  him 
yet  unknown  ;  if,  in  fairy-land,  the  *'  Dream '' 
tells  us  how  it  would  be  used. 

Time  passed  on.  Life's  work  grew  more 
serious  and  its  purpose  more  real  to  Shakespeare, 
The  apprentice  became  the  actor,  the  dramatist, 


Shakespeare  :  The  Genius        225 

the  poet,  the  successful  business  man,  the  suf- 
ferer, the  master.  His  work  done,  lie  bade  fare- 
well to  his  fellow-actors,  his  literary  friends, 
the  nobles  who  loved  him,  and  sought  rest  and 
peace  among  the  scenes  of  old  Warwickshire, 
where  his  boyhood  was  spent. 

Of  his  four  romance  plays,  '*The  Winter's 
Tale  "  was  the  last  one  written,  while  '^  The 
Tempest  "  just  preceded  it.  I  take  it,  that  his 
purpose  was  that  "  The  Tempest "  should  be 
his  last  work ;  but  that  genius  struggled  for 
another  expression,  and  then  came  *'  The  Win- 
ter's Tale."  In  spite  of  this,  I  hold  that  the 
Epilogue  to  "  The  Tempest "  was  written  later 
still,  and  that  it  is  the  master's  farewell  to  his 
muse,  his  good-by  to  the  new  dramatic  art  he 
had  created. 

I  speak  of  the  new  dramatic  art  Shakespeare 
had  created.  Prior  to  the  Elizabethan  age,  the 
Greek  model  was  followed  by  the  dramatist. 
Ben  Jonson  held  to  it  religiously,  and  Shake- 
speare was  criticised  by  his  contempoi-aries  for 
not  observing  it.  In  *'  The  Tempest,"  Shake- 
speare preserves,  for  the  first  and  only  time,  the 
Greek  unities  of  time,  place,  and  action,  the 
entire  action  of  the  play  being  comprised  with- 
in three  or  four  hours.  Of  the  heroes  of  "  The 
Tempest "  and  ^'The  Winter's  Tale,"  Dr.  Furni. 


226  Paths  to  Power. 

vail  writes :  "  Shakespeare  has  seized  in  Miranda 
on  the  new  type  of  sweet  country-girl,  unspoiled 
by  town  devices,  and  glorified  it  into  a  being  fit 
for  an  angel's  world.  He  shows  us  more  of 
Perdita  than  of  Miranda ;  and,  heavenly  as  the 
innocence  of  Miranda  was,  we  yet  feel  that 
Perdita  comes  to  us  with  a  sweeter,  more  earth- 
like charm,  though  not  less  endowed  with  all 
that  is  holy  and  pure,  than  her  sister  of  the 
imaginary  Mediterranean  isle." 

Primarily,  to  understand  '*The  Tempest," 
one  must  see  in  Prospero,  Shakespeare,  the 
Master.  Till  then,  he  was  only  the  artist  seek- 
ing to  please ;  then,  having  reached  his  own 
ideal  he  must  create  a  Prospero  to  reflect  it. 
He,  as  dramatist,  had  won  all — wealth,  lienor, 
renown.  His  literary  enemies  had  become  his 
greatest  admirers.  Ben  Jonson,  whose  quarrel 
with  Shakespeare  was  most  serious,  thus  eulo- 
gized  him : 

*  To  draw  no  envy  (Shakespeare)  on  thy  name, 
Am  I  thus  ample  to  thy  book  and  fame ; 
While  I  confess  thy  writings  to  be  such 
As  neither  man  nor  muse  can  praise  too  much, 
*  *  *  *  ^  *  * 

"  Thou  art  alive  still  while  thy  boolr  doth  live, 
And  we  have  wits  to  read  and  prnise  to  give, 
And  though  thou  liadst  small  Latin  and  less  Greek 
From  thence  to  honor  thee,  I  would  not  seek 


Shakespeare  :  The  Genius.       227 

For  names  ;  but  call  for  thundering  ^schylus, 
Euripides  and  Sophocles  to  us  ; 
Pacurius,  Accius,  him  of  Cordova  dead 
To  life  again,  to  hear  thy  buskin  tread, 
And  shake  the  stage. 


'  But  stay,  I  see  thee  in  the  hemisphere 
Advanced,  and  made  a  constellation  there  I 
Shine  forth  thou  star  of  poets,  and  with  rage 
Or  influence,  chide  or  cheer  the  drooping  stage." 

The  key-note  in  the  "  Dream "  is  a  call  to 
merriment;  the  key-note  in  "  The  Tempest  "  is 
a  call  to  realization  through  forgiveness  and 
freedom.  Life  was  then  not  a  sealed  volume  ; 
ft  was  an  open  book,  and  Miranda  must  be  taught 
of  it,  for  "  the  hour's  now  come."  The  thread 
running  through  the  whole  play  is  the  thought 
that  the  true  freedom  of  man  consists  in  ser- 
vice. 

Prospero,  deprived  of  power  by  deceit  and 
the  use  of  physical  force,  finds  in  solitude  and 
silence  the  real  source  of  power.  Attractive 
mental  force  is  studied,  and  its  philosophy  mas- 
tered. Men  who  would  not  are  drawn  from  sea 
courses  they  planned,  and  brought  to  the  little 
island  where  even  the  elements  obey  Prospero's 
will.  Fairies  no  longer  rule  ;  they  are  now  but 
the  attendants  of  a  mightier  force  ;  they  obev  the 
snan  who  bad  merged  his  soul  (his  divinity)  into 


228  Paths  to  Power. 

his  consciousness.  The  man  also  had  grown  so 
strong,  that  he  avenged  wrongs  with  forgiveness. 
He  spoke,  and  liatred  dissolving  grew  into  love. 
Love  and  love  alone  was  eternal.  The  fairy 
play  produced  for  Ferdinand  ended,  he  turaed 
to  his  surprised  auditor  with, 

"  These  our  actors, 
As  I  foretold  you,  were  all  spirits,  and 
Are  melted  into  air,  into  thin  air  ; 
And,  like  the  baseless  fabric  of  this  vision, 
The  cloud-capped  towers,  the  gorgeous  palaces^ 
The  solemn  temples,  the  great  globe  itself, 
Yea,  all  which  it  inherit,  shall  dissolve. 
And,  like  this  unsubstantial  pageant  faded 
Leave  not  a  wrack  behind.    We  are  such  stuff 
As  dreams  are  made  on,  and  our  little  life 
Is  rounded  with  a  sleep." 

As  the  central  figure,  director  of  fairies,  of 
men,  of  earth's  physical  elements,  stood  Pros- 
pero,  ruling  all,  forgiving  all,  loving  all.  As 
the  central  figure  among  the  dramatists  in  the 
Elizabethan  age  stood  Shakespeare  then,  over- 
topping all,  forgiving  all,  loving  all.  Then  would 
the  Buddhist  have  declared  that  Shakespeare's 
Yogihood  was  complete.  In  that  supreme  mo- 
ment, when  no  longer  he  feared  the  scorn  of  the 
great  or  the  envy  of  the  envious,  he  was  at 
peace  with  all  the  world.  He  liad  sonrrht  and 
obtained  forgiveness  from  his  own  soul  for  the 


Shakespeare  :  The  Genius.       229 

wrongs  he  had  done ;  and  then,  in  the  fulness 
of  his  joy,  he  gave  forgiveness  to  all  who  had 
ever  wronged  him  by  word,  or  thought,  or  deed. 
Then,  life  was  love ;  and,  within  him,  tha 
Christ  was  born. 


mint. 


